When Hope isn't Enough
by Sinkme
Summary: Being re-written
1. Prologue

So, yea, first story, I'm not one hundred percent sure where I'm going with this, so bear with me

So, yea, first story, I'm not one hundred percent sure where I'm going with this, so bear with me. It's centered on Hermione, and I'm not sure if it's a Hermione/Snape, yet, and the other pairings, etc will unfold with the story. It's AU, and this page is the necessary background for my story. So here we go-

I will warn you now, my timeline and the age of my characters will change and probably not make sense, and I will do my best, but just accept that I will screw something up.

Please note that info below is not canon, my story is AU, and so I am changing almost everything!

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Background info:

1. There is a prophecy concerning Hermione that will be revealed during the story.

2. Voldemort never fell from power like he did in the books. He discovered Horcruxes and the spell to create them around the summer of 1980, and the first Horcrux he makes is Harry. Since he is using the spell for the first time, he is greatly weakened, and subsequently, when he makes more Horcruxes, he is weakened less each time.

3. Voldemort didn't kill Lily and James because of the Prophecy- there is no prophecy concerning Harry. He killed them because they were Aurors and had recently sent several Death Eaters to a hidden prison used by the Ministry (the Ministry is in a state of active war against Voldy and the Death Eaters- while they aren't perfect they're more competent than there were in the books). After Voldemort killed them, he decided it would be in his best interests to make Harry a Horcrux rather than kill him. As a result of the Horcrux spell, Harry has a scar in the shape of the Dark Mark on the back of his left shoulder.

4. Harry is taken from the remains of Godric's Hollow and raised by Sirius, Remus, and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix at Grimmauld Place. He is educated from a young age in the ways of defensive magic and is proficient in a variety of magical subjects.

5. The Weasley's, or at least Arthur, Molly, Bill, and Charlie, are in the Order, so they often visit Grimmauld Place and Harry grows up with them around, so he becomes very close to them all.

6. Sirius and Remus have reconciled with Snape in light of the sacrifices he makes for the Order and helping to teach and protect Harry. There was no issue over who betrayed the Potter's hiding place to Voldemort since they hadn't yet gone into hiding when they were killed. Peter, however, was originally sorted into Slytherin and became a Death Eater after leaving school.

7. Snape was never a Death Eater by choice; his decision to join and become a spy was discussed with the entire Order, and they all understand that this was his choice, and that he was putting his life on the line to get them crucial information. He is the same age as Remus and Sirius, and he was born in 1962, making him 28 at the beginning of the story and 18 years older than Hermione and her yearmates. More about how he became a Death Eater and got close to Voldemort will be revealed with the story.

8. After Draco was born in 1980, Lucius, and by association, Narcissa, contact the Order via Snape and informed them that they are willing to turn from Voldemort and spy for the Order. They didn't want Draco growing up to be a Death Eater and pretended to raise him according to pureblood decree, while really they raised him to be kind and open minded.

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I think that's everything- so enjoy chapter 1!


	2. Summer and a Sorting

Thanks to Stashthesocks for letting me know that someone out there is interested in this, hehe.

Author's note- even though Voldemort is in power, his Death Eaters are running the show, since he's weakened from making Horcrux. They are all for random attacks, but mostly attack Muggle towns. So, for now, the wizarding population isn't worried about direct attacks on them. (That will change soon)

Maintanence:

_Thought_

"Normal speaking"

_"Spell"_

_Nonverbal Spell_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than my weird plot

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Chapter 1- The Beginning

"Damn it girl, GET UP NOW!" Hermione's dad yelled at her. "There's a bloody bird tapping on the glass and it's bothering me!"

By now, Hermione knew better than to talk back to her father, although she would have liked to tell him that he could get off his butt and shoo the bird away on his own. Never let it be said, though, that Hermione was a slow learner; her father only had to hit her twice before she understood that he wouldn't stand for being talked back to.

"Coming, father" She replied dutifully. She had learned that the hard way, too; total obedience. She climbed up the stairs from the basement to the living room, blinking when the light hit her eyes, and followed the noise of the bird to the window in the kitchen. She quickly looked around for any food, but her father never left food lying around after one painful incident.

Hermione was tall for her ten years, and extremely skinny. She had short brown hair, which fell just below her jaw line; it was straight and uncared for. Her eyes were gray, and when she was especially emotional, they would almost become blue tinted, giving them the appearance of ice. She had a small nose, high cheekbones, and a once stubborn-set jaw, which was now turned down into a frown.

The bird was clutching an envelope which was addressed to her. She panicked, unsure of what to do, until she saw her neighbor signal her to come to his house. She hesitated, knowing that she would be punished, but her curiosity outweighed her sense of self-preservation.

"Father, the bird is stuck; may I go outside to free it?" She cautiously asked.

"Yea, whatever, but don't take too long, or you know what'll happen" He replied.

She sighed to herself; her dad just wasn't the same since her mom died. He used to be so kind and loving, and she wondered what happened to the father she once knew and loved. Her pushed these thoughts to the back of her head and went outside. She went over to the bird, who, she was surprised to see, offered the letter to her, and after taking the letter, walked to her neighbor's house.

Her neighbor, Mr. Ben Nicolo was a man around his mid-forties, with slightly graying hair and brown eyes. He was rarely seen outside and there were often weird noises and lights coming from his house. People said he was a sorcerer, but Hermione didn't believe that, since he was friendly enough to her on the occasions that she had seen him. She walked up to his house and he ushered her inside.

"Quickly, before someone sees" He said, with a slight hint of panic in his voice.

"Why, what's going on?" Hermione asked. "And why did you invite me over?"

"I figured it would be easier for you to understand your letter if I was present to answer your questions and explain some things" He said more calmly now. When Hermione looked at her letter, he muttered something under his breath and waved his hand behind his back.

Hermione looked at her letter, and then back at him, wondering what on earth was going on. Before he could say anything, she opened the letter and silently read the words that would change her life forever.

"_Dear Ms. Granger, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…" _Hermione looked up at him and said, "This is a joke, right?" He shook his head. "But this isn't real, I mean, I can't be a witch, I can't even protect mysel-" She stopped mid-sentence, and Ben's head snapped down to meet her gray eyes. She turned away, refusing to meet his gaze. It was then that he noticed how skinny she was, how loose fitting her clothes were, the telltale sign of bruises on her shoulders, and something else, something far worse, on her arm.

"Hermione, can I see your left arm?" He said urgently. She kept her gaze on the floor, but pulled her sleeve back to reveal her left arm. He saw a scar and some bruises, but what really captured his attention was what appeared to be the tattoo of a small phoenix spreading its wings on her arm. "Hermione," he said carefully, his eyes not moving from her arm. "When did you get that mark?" Hermione was grateful that he seemed to be ignoring her bruises until he said, "I'm getting to your other injuries, but I need to know about the mark first."

She looked up at him and said, "My mom told me I was born with it. Why?" He shook his head, "Nothing, it's just interesting" he said as he gently brushed his fingers over the mark. Suddenly, he grabbed his left forearm and hissed, as if in pain.

He shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts, and acted as though nothing had happened. "Is your dad hitting you?" He asked, as much to change the subject as to try to help her. "No!" She said much too quickly. He looked at her to let her know that he didn't believe her, but that he wouldn't pressure her into talking about it. He decided that now was a good time to tell her about her new life.

"So you'll be going to Hogwarts this September. I'll take you to Diagon Alley and help you get everything you need" At a look from her, he added, "I'll pay for whatever you need. I'm single with no family, so I have plenty of money I just have no one to spend it on. And you need someone to help you learn the ways of the wizarding world." She hesitated, then, seeing the truth in what he said, nodded her assent. The contents of her letter hadn't really sunk in for her yet, she was functioning without really thinking about it.

She glanced at the clock and realized that her father might kill her if she stayed any longer. She looked at him, and he nodded, "Go on home now; I'll come to get you on the 31st of August and explain everything to your dad." With that he gave her the letter and she ran home, fearful of what her dad would do to her.

Ben sighed after she left, and began composing a letter to Albus Dumbledore, explaining the situation to him.

Unfortunately for Hermione, her father noticed how long she was out, and punished her accordingly. As his belt hit her back, Hermione bit her cheek until it bled, determined not to cry out. She choked back a sob as he slapped her across the face, and then threw her down the stairs into the basement, closing the door with a loud snap. She crawled over to her corner and fell into a troubled sleep.

For the next three weeks, Hermione tread cautiously around her father, not wanting to invoke his wrath or give him a reason to keep her from going to Hogwarts. She found it hard to believe that she was a witch, but if it got her out of her house for a year she was fine with it.

Finally, the day came, and Hermione waited anxiously for Ben to come over and take her away. Around noon she heard the doorbell ring and her fathers' voice. He seemed to be yelling at whoever was at the door. Suddenly the door to the basement burst open and Ben appeared. Her father was close behind him, saying what foolishness this was, and how Hermione couldn't be a witch. Ben motioned for Hermione to come with him, and her father stepped towards her, bringing his hand back to smack her, when he suddenly froze.

Ben had a piece of wood out and said something that sounded like "Stoo-pify" Hermione looked at her father, shocked that he couldn't move, but Ben looked disgusted. He gently took Hermione's hand and led her out of the house. "I'll come back later for him" Ben said softly when Hermione asked what was going to happen to her father. He stuck the arm that had the wood in it straight out in front of him and suddenly a huge bus appeared. He and Hermione boarded quickly, and he nudged her to the back after paying the man at the front of the bus, and telling him they were going to the Leaky Cauldron.

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Hermione was too stunned to move when Ben began to examine the welts, both old and new, on her arms. "I don't know enough medical spells to fix these, but I can glamour you. Basically it will make the marks disappear and most of the pain go away. Once you get to Hogwarts, though, you need to see the Medi-Witch there. Madame Pomfrey is very nice and she won't ask you a lot of questions."

As he started the incantation, Hermione interrupted him. "Can you teach it to me, so, if I, um, need to apply it myself I will know how?" She said. He looked at her, thinking that it might be a good idea to teach it to her. _Since I won't be around much longer _He thought. "Very well" He said, "The incantation is _occultus vultus_ and the wand movement is like so" He moved his wand in a semi circle, and then moved it sharply to the right.

"_Occultus vultus_," Hermione said quietly to herself, memorizing the spell. "Yes, that's ri-" Ben broke off suddenly when he saw that the bruises covering Hermione's arms and face were slowly disappearing. He knew it wasn't from him, since he hadn't yet done the spell properly yet. He gaped at her, awestruck. _Wandless magic from a ten year old with no magical background_ He thought to himself. _Maybe they have a chance after all. I must write Dumbledore immediately. _

"Leaky Cauldron" The conductor yelled. Hermione and Ben made their way to the front of the bus and got off. "Stick close to me, Hermione" Ben said. "Are we in Diagon Alley, Ben?" Hermione asked him as they walked towards a broken down building. "No, this is a charm that keeps Muggles- people who don't have magic- out" He explained to her. They walked to the back of the Leaky Cauldron, whereupon Ben pulled out his stick- or wand, as he told her- and tapped a number of random bricks to reveal Diagon Alley.

Hermione stood with her mouth open for a minute until Ben jostled her into a nearby store. "Hello Madame Malkin, I have a new witch and soon-to-be first year for you. I am taking care of her for the moment, so I need to run to Gringotts to get some money. Can you start getting her sizes and such until I come back?" Ben said to the witch behind the counter. "Of course, dearie, anything for my favorite Ravenclaw." Ben flashed her a grin, and went out the doors to go to Gringotts.

"Interesting man, isn't he, that Ben?" Madame Malkin asked Hermione. "I'm Madame Malkin by the way, and you are?" "I'm Hermione Granger." "Lovely to meet you Hermione, what a pretty name. If you'll just step on the stool I'll get your measurements and find you some nice robes for each season." Hermione stepped up and a tape measure flew around her, getting every measurement imaginable. She blinked a couple times, dizzy from following it around her arms, when Madame Malkin stopped it and went into the back room to get robes. With a few waves of her wand, they were transfigured to Hermione's height, another wave, and they were packaged neatly.

She handed them to Hermione, and said, "Perfect timing as usual Ben." He handed her some coins and nodded to her, then held the door open for Hermione and they left for a Flourish and Blotts to get Hermione's spell books. They left with considerably heavier bags, until Ben put a weightlessness charm on them. Odds Bobbs was next, for her potions cauldron, phials, and ingredients, as well as other, well odds bobs that a young witch would need, like quills and parchment.

"Last stop, Ollivander's, for your wand" Ben told her. "It's better if you go in alone for this, wands are personal." He gave her a pat and she found herself looking around an old, dark room filled with boxes. "Hello, my dear," a voice called to her from the back. "I don't recognize you, so you must be Muggle-born. And I'll assume that this is your first time in the wizarding world. Hm, what to try, what to try" He hopped around the room mumbling to himself and Hemrione was concerned that the old man was touched in the head. "Ah! Maple wood, drangon heartstring, 10 inches. Give it a wave" he said as he thrust a box into her face.

Hermione waved it in a circle, causing several boxes to fall. "No, well let's try this, unicorn hair, walnut, 12 inches." Again, she waved it and this time some glass in the back room exploded. "Hm, this could be tricky," Ollivander said to himself. Ten wands later, and Hermione was feeling embarrassed that none of the wands suited her. _Hm, I've never met a child that has so violently rejected every wand that I've given them. She hasn't had any possible matches and I'm running out of ideas. Although, I could try _that_ wand_.

He moved to the back of one of the shelves and pulled out a wand. "Phoenix feather given on the full moon, willow, 13 inches" He said, handing it to her. Hermione took the wand in her hand and felt warm all over; it felt as if the wand was made for her. She looked at Ollivander, shocked, and he gave her a small smile, although it seemed sad to her. She thanked him and paid with some money that Ben had given her earlier. "Poor girl," Ollivander said after she left.

On their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, Ben told her that he had to leave for something important. "I called a friend, and they'll meet you here tomorrow morning and take you to the train station. Don't leave the room until he comes to get you, and only when he tells you the password, which is 'furry forsit,' He'll take you and his godson, who is going to Hogwarts this year too, to the train station tomorrow morning." "Do you have to go?" Hermione asked him sadly. She had taken a liking to Ben; he had become a sort of older brother to her.

"Yea, I do have to go, and I don't think I'm going to see you for a while either, because of my job. I work for an important, er, research company, and I need to go away for a while to gather more information for a new experiment we're doing. Here's some money for the year, try not to spend it all in one place." He showed her to the room he rented for her in the Leaky Cauldron, and she surprised him by giving him a hug and saying "I'll miss you. And thanks for everything." Her eyes showed how sad she was that he was leaving, but that she understood. She knew in her heart that something was wrong with what he said and that she would never see him again, but she hoped she was wrong.

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Ben left quickly and apparated home. He composed his final will and got together several important documents; he tied all of these into a bundle and gave them to his owl, Lara. "Take these to Dumbledore as fast as you can, then take this to Hermione, she's at Hogwarts too. Don't come back." Then he sat down to wait for the inevitable. As he waited, he thought back on his life as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. He wondered if the information he gained on the Horcruxes that Voldemort was making would help, or if his sacrifice tonight would help cement the other spies into Voldemort's inner circle.

Around midnight, three figures shrouded in black and wearing masks burst through his door, wands drawn and pointed at him. "Well, it seems that the traitor won't even fight back. Too afraid to fight like a man?" A woman cackled. She removed her mask, saying, "I want to see your face as you die. You betrayed the Dark Lord. We knew as soon as you made contact with the child from the prophecy, and yet you didn't come to the Dark Lord. We knew that you betrayed us. Tell me what you discovered, who you told, and where the child is, and I might grant you a quick death."

The ghost of a smile lit Ben's face. "Bellatrix, no matter what I do, I won't get a quick death tonight, I know that. Just like you know that I won't tell you anything. Although I am curious as to the child you're referring to." "As if you don't know" She sneered. "The child of the prophecy that will wipe out the Dark Lord and his loyal Death Eaters. The child that will be more powerful than anyone could even dream. The child that we will find and either kill, or raise to be evil so that none may threaten us. Now, tell me what you know!"

Sparks were flying out of the end of her wand, but Ben didn't even blink. "Actually, Bella, I have no idea who you're talking about. Are you sure you're not imagining things again?" Ben said recklessly. _If I can keep her angry, maybe she'll kill me quickly_ He thought. "Bella, keep calm, we need him alive for the moment" A masked Death Eater said. "Figures you would be here, Rodolphus, you are the only one that could keep Bella in check" Ben said, although he was worried now, if Rodolphus was here, that meant that his chance at a quick death was gone.

As if to prove his point, Bellatrix cried "_Crucio_," and pointed her wand at him. White hot pain hit him and it felt as if every bone in his body was breaking and his veins were on fire. When Bellatrix lifted her wand, Rodolphus hit him with a Slashing Curse. "Now, tell me what you know" Bellatrix said again, her voice tight with forced calm.

"Bite me" Ben said flippantly, _Hell, _he thought. _I'm dying tonight no matter what; I might as well annoy Bellatrix before I die, since I'll never betray the Order and Hermione. _The Cruciatus curse was back on him, and the pain he felt was doubled, since Bellatrix was angry that he would talk to her that way.

After half an hour of torture, the third member of the group looked at an irate Bellatrix and said, "Enough, this is accomplishing nothing. He isn't going to tell us anything and is practically dead. None of us are good enough at legilimency to get the information from him. Let's just kill him and leave before someone shows up." "Good point, Lucius. Very well, Bella, will you do the honors?"

"_Avada Kedavra_!" she exclaimed nastily. And with that, Ben Nicolo, spy for the Order of the Phoenix, was dead. As the Death Eaters left, Lucius Malfoy took a last look back, then quietly sent a Patronus to Dumbledore to alert him to the fact that Ben was dead, but he didn't reveal anything.

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Meanwhile, at the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione couldn't fall asleep, so she began reading the textbooks Ben got her. She also read a handy guide that he bought her for. It was for Muggleborn kids that weren't used to the wizarding world. It included everything that she would need to know about the basics of the world she was now a part of, including the names of famous witches and wizards, important events and dates of the past one hundred years, the money system they use, and the names and description of food and other things.

She drowsed off around eleven o'clock, and didn't wake up from her uncomfortable slumber until she head a knock at the door. "Who's there?" she grumbled. "Remus Lupin, I'm here at Ben's request to take you to the train station with my godson Harry. And before you ask, the password is 'furry forsit."

Hermione walked over to the door and opened it to reveal a man in his mid-thirties with light brown hair and kind brown eyes. He looked tired, but happy, and he had faint scar lines across his face. "Hello," he said. "I'm Remus Lupin, but you may call me Lupin, or, when we get to Hogwarts, Professor Lupin. I'll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm assuming that I have the right room, and that you're Hermione Granger."

Hermione nodded and moved to the side to allow him to walk inside. "Let me just get all my books together" She said. "Allow me; it will be easier if I pack for you." He flicked his wand, and all of her books were piled neatly into her trunk, which locked shut and rolled itself over to her. "Hermione, excuse me for asking, but do you have something different you could wear?"

He was looking at the sleeveless tshirt she was wearing, and noticed the phoenix mark. "Why, is it cold outside?" She asked, pretending to ignore the fact that he was staring at the mark. "No, but the train will be cold" He answered. _She suspects something_ he thought. _I can tell from the look on her face._ She opened her trunk and pulled a regular tshirt over her other one. "That will do for now, since I'm changing into robes on the ride there" she said.

Once they were ready, Lupin pulled out a broken pocket watch and told Hermione to hold her trunk firmly and touch the watch. "It's a portkey," he said by way of explaining. She remembered reading about them last night, so she held on to her trunk and touched the watch. A few seconds later, they were in an abandoned room, except that, after looking around, Hermione noticed two other people in the room.

One was tall with short black hair and dark eyes; the other was short with messy black hair and bright green eyes. "Ah, Sirius, Harry, you've made it. Good. This is Hermione Granger. Hermione, the tall one is Sirius Black and the short one is Harry Potter."

They each traded a "nice to meet you," and with that, they headed to the train. After convincing Hermione that she wouldn't run into the wall, and letting Lupin go first to demonstrate how to go through the barrier, they were heading to the back of the train to load their trunks. Lupin pulled Sirius aside for a moment to tell him about the mark on Hermione's shoulder, then they were all saying goodbye to Sirius. Lupin would be going on the train with them, since he would begin teaching this year. Harry gave his godfather a long hug, and said "I'll see you at Christmas."

He gave Harry a package, and smiled mischievously "Open it on the train and ask Lupin about it." Sirius turned to Hermione and said "It was a pleasure to meet you, Hermione, with any luck you and Harry will be in the same House and you can keep him out of trouble. Have a good first year." Hermione gave him a smile, "Thank you, it was nice to meet you as well Mr. Black." "Please, Hermione, call me Sirius. 'Mr. Black' makes me feel old" Sirius said with a grin. "Alright then, it was good to meet you, Sirius."

With that, they boarded the Hogwarts Express and found an empty compartment. After about ten minutes, Harry opened his package to find an old map in it. "Lupin, what's this?" he asked. Lupin looked at it and laughed, "I haven't seen that in a while. It's a map of Hogwarts that your father, Sirius, and I made when we went to Hogwarts. It shows secret passages and tunnels, and where all the people in the castle are at all times." Lupin smiled fondly at something he was undoubtedly remembering. "How does it work?" Harry asked, examining the map.

"You open it by saying 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' and you close it by saying 'mischief managed,' Take good care of that Harry, and don't use it for trouble" He said, fixing Harry with a stern look. After that, Lupin settled in for a nap, and Harry and Hermione began to talk about their childhoods, and what they hoped to do at Hogwarts.

Hermione was content to let Harry talk, since she didn't want to tell him about her home life. When he asked why she was quiet, she said it was because she had a normal childhood and didn't know about magic, so it was interesting to listen to him. He told her about how Lupin and Sirius raised him after his parents died, but he didn't mention how his parents died. Whenever he mentioned them, his face scrunched up, like he was angry or upset, so Hermione didn't ask him about it.

They changed into their robes when the castle came into view, and woke Lupin up. Soon they were being pushed through the crowds, following a giant man named Hagrid who kept yelling "Firs' years! This way!" They followed him to the lake and into several boats. From there, they could see all of Hogwarts, and Hermione stared at it the whole way. _I can't believe all of this is real. I can't believe that I belong to this world now. I have a chance to start over. _They all clambered up the stairs until a stern looking witch stopped them.

"I am Professor McGonagall. In a moment you will pass through these doors to be sorted. While you're here, your House will be like a family. There are four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Your Head of House will explain things better to you after the feast. Now, follow me." With that the huge doors behind her opened and she guided them to the front of the hall, where there was a stool with an old hat sitting on top.

"Bissert, Danielle" McGonagall called. "Ravenclaw" the Hat said. "Granger, Hermione" Hermione walked up to the stool and McGonagall put the hat on her head. "Hm, well, you are an interesting one," the Hat said. "A Muggle-born, I see, but that doesn't matter. You're going to do great things, yes, and the mark on your arm will prove that. You will be very powerful, but what you do with that power will be your choice. Clever, yes, very clever, and intelligent too. Brave, but not to a fault, like the Gryffindors are. Loyal, to your new friend, but also, you have a sense of self-preservation around you, not surprising, considering your past. But where to put you. It's never been done before, but I think that it's the right house for you. So it's gonna be – SLYTHERIN."

Hermione took the Hat off and walked to the Slytherin table, who were politely clapping. After Hermione, "Kirby, Katie" and "Malfoy, Draco" were also sorted into Slytherin, and "Longbottom, Neville" was sorted into Gryffindor. When it was Harry's turn, the Hat took the longest out of everyone until it finally declared- "SLYTHERIN." Harry walked over and sat next to Hermione. "Summers, Alianne," was sorted into Gyrffindor, along with "Weasley, Ron," and that was the end of the Sorting.

"Hey," said a boy with white blonde hair. He got up from where he was sitting and was now standing next to Hermione. "Do you mind if I sit with you guys?" Harry and Hermione looked at him, "What's wrong with the people you're sitting with?" Harry asked. "Well, they're kind of annoying, and I can't really be myself with them" He answered. "I'm Draco, by the way, Draco Malfoy."

"I'm Hermione, and this is Harry, and of course you can sit with us. Do you mind me asking why you can't be youself with those other people?" she asked. "No, I don't mind. Well, I come from a family that has a place in wizarding society that we've always held. Those people expect me to behave as my family always has, but I don't think I want to be like that." Harry and Draco shared a quick look and gave each other a curt nod. Harry knew about the Order of the Phoenix, the Death Eaters, and the war with Voldemort almost better than anyone else in his year.

He also understood the need for secrecy. Sirius had told him that Lucius Malfoy was a spy for the Order, one of many, in fact, and that if he should run into the Malfoy boy, he should play along with whatever he did. Harry had learned that silence sometimes told more than actions or words did, since people were less likely to notice you and would let something slip. He had learned to value stealth and perfected his strategic thinking thanks to Professor's Snape training throughout his childhood. Harry also knew that Draco had been trained in the ways of war, and that this was not a game.

He leaned over the table, and Draco did the same, "So what did you tell your friends over there?" Harry asked. "I told them I would come over and make friends with you in order to gain your trust and information on the Order, but it's a load of bullocks. I'm just glad this gives me a reason to hang out with other people." Harry nodded and glanced at Hermione, from the look on her face, she didn't understand what was going on, but accepted that she had been left out for some reason.

Secretly, though, she heard every word, and understood most of what was happening. Draco was from a family that supported Voldemort, the Dark wizard she read about, but his family was probably double crossing Voldemort, since she had a feeling that Sirius and Lupin were a part of the Order of the Phoenix, and by extension, Harry was connected to the Order. If they were considering being friends, it meant that Draco would have to pretend to be spying on them, in order to maintain his façade that he supported the Dark side. The only thing she didn't understand was the mark on her arm, and how it, and she, played into all of this.

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Alright. So there's chapter 1. Chapter 2 will consist of the first half of Hermione's first year at Hogwarts, beginning with an introduction to the first years from my favorite person- Snape!! The second chapter will take me a little bit longer to write, since I don't have everything planned out yet.

Let me know how you like my story so far, and I'm open to any suggestions you have.

Thanks, 3 sinkme


	3. Lessons and a Letter

Ch

Ch.2 Year One (part 1)

Big note: I'm making Snape OOC, so he'll be a bit nicer (in private mostly), and less obnoxiously rude. Fear not, though, I'm doing my best to maintain his sarcasm and wit. They're some of his more charming characteristics.

Thanks to my reviewers! You guys make me all warm and fuzzy inside. And a couple of you suggested that I take out the author's notes, and I agree that they were mostly unnecessary, so I edited chapter 2 and took them out.

Thanks to: Sylphides, Sofia7, Harry-Hermione Potter, Lysjknopp, Stashthesocks, and Padslet

I hope this chapter answers some questions- it's the first half of Hermione's first year.

Maintanence:

_Thought_

"Normal speaking"

_"Spell"_

_Nonverbal Spell_

Disclaimer: If I was JK I wouldn't bother writing this here, since it would probably be in the books, so I don't own HP.

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"Welcome back, for the first years who don't know me, I am Professor Snape, and I am your Head of House and the Potions Master. Everyone else, you know the drill, keep your noses clean and don't sink to the Gryffindor's level of rash actions. We are the cunning and intelligent ones" His black eyes looked over each student as he spoke. "Plan your revenge carefully and don't get caught, because then I would have to punish you, and you are targeted enough by the other teachers without me punishing you as well" Snape said all of this calmly, looking into almost everyone's faces to make sure his words had the effect he wanted. "Look out for each other, since the only friends you will find are in this House. The others will look down on you because you are in Slytherin-- stick together. Older students, keep an eye out for the younger ones. Dismissed. First years, stay."

"Now, this is your first year at Hogwarts, and things may seem overwhelming, if you need any help, any at all, come to my classroom and talk to me. You need to understand that this House is prejudiced against by the other three Houses, and at many times the other students will shun you simply because you are a Slytherin. Ignore them. They are idiots who can't look past old rivalries; this House is always loyal to its members. The older students will help guide you throughout your years here. Now, the rest of you are dismissed to your dorms, I daresay you need to get situated. I need to speak to Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Draco Malfoy, separately, please." The three of them came forward slowly, each wondering why the intimidating man needed to talk to them.

"Follow me, then." He led them out of the common room, and through several hallways, until they arrived at a room that Hermione guessed was his classroom. She took the time to look her teacher over. He was tall, wearing entirely black robes that billowed behind him and covered almost every inch of him; only his hands and head were exposed. His neck was completely covered by his high collar. He had dark eyes, almost black, and black hair that hung loosely at his shoulders. He had pale skin and looked like he didn't eat or sleep enough. He startled her by turning sharply into a classroom and calling over his shoulder, "Come inside, and Mr. Malfoy, I'll talk to you first." He led them into his classroom and then led Draco through another door which led to his office. Hermione and Harry were left to look around the classroom, but they didn't move from where they stood, for fear of breaking something.

Draco came out after five minutes, and told Harry to go in next. After the door closed, Draco said to Hermione, "Is it true you're Muggleborn?" "Yea, why, does that matter?" She asked him back. "It doesn't to me, but to other people, like some of my family's friends, it will matter a lot. I need to tell you more about myself and some, um, _issues_ that concern me, and by extension, you. I think it would be a good idea if I taught you some of the ways of the wizarding world, especially with You-Know-Who in power, and the prophecy,-" He broke off with a guilty look. "What prophecy?" Hermione asked quickly. But Harry chose that moment to emerge from Snape's office, and told Hermione it was her turn. Before she closed the door behind her, she turned and saw Draco and Harry whispering something and looking in her direction. _I need to find out what's going on_, she thought.

"Hello, Miss Granger" Snape said softly. "You're not in trouble; I just wanted to talk to you. The Headmaster told me that you are Muggleborn, and I just wanted to tell you that if anyone from any House gives you a hard time about being a Muggleborn in Slytherin, come to me and they will be punished. There has never been a Muggleborn student in Slytherin, but the Hat put you here for a reason."

He paused and looked her over appraisingly. "Why do you have a glamour on?" He asked her. She hid her shock with a mask of confusion. "What's a glamour?" She asked, schooling her face into a mixture of confusion and innocence. "It's a charm that people use to hide something about their appearance. _Finite Incantatum."_ Snape said, pulling his wand out of his robes and pointing it at her.

It didn't take a genius to tell that the spell he used would end the charm Ben had taught Hermione to cover her bruises. Hermione was worried, "I can't let him see my bruises, they haven't healed yet!" She looked down at herself, expecting to see the vibrant colors of the half healed bruises, but she saw nothing. She looked up at Snape and asked cautiously, "Is it good or bad that nothing happened?"

Snape looked at her, picking up her choice of words. _So she _is_ hiding something. It has to be something other than her mark, since that can't be concealed or duplicated. I wonder what happened_. He thought, then said to her, "It is neither good nor bad. Just remember that I am here for you, anytime you need to talk, and it doesn't matter what you need to talk about" He gave her a pointed look that clearly showed he was worried about what she was hiding. "Thank you, sir, I'll keep that in mind." With that, she turned and left the room. He followed her, and then led the three first years back to the common room. "The password is _serpens intus"_ with that, the door opened and Snape turned and walked the same way he came.

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On his way back to his rooms, he wondered what could have happened that she would need a glamour, and more importantly, why it wasn't cancelled with his spell. _From what Dumbledore told me, Ben reported that she is extremely powerful but is quiet and withdrawn. I will need to keep an eye on her. No doubt that there are certain people, students even, that would wish to kill her if her identity should become known._

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"We need to talk" The three of them said simultaneously. They blinked, and then started to laugh. Luckily, since it was late, the common room was empty. They each sat in an armchair and looked at each other.

Draco was the first to speak, "I'll start by explaining about my family." He cast a cautious look around before continuing. Harry and Hermione leaned closer as his voice dropped to a whisper. "It all started about twenty years ago. Rumors were spreading about a powerful Dark wizard by the name of- V-Voldemort. But don't say his name!" He looked at Hermione, making sure she understood. She nodded, but in reality she was nonplussed, honestly, who was afraid to say a _name_; she wasn't, although she hadn't seen what Voldemort wrought first hand.

"Ok, well, he attracted a lot of followers, my parents included. He didn't care who they were, as long as they were pureblood, that means that both their parents were magical. He even accepted half-bloods, but they didn't advertise their blood status. Anyway, as the years went on, he recruited more and more followers, but he became more fanatical, as did his followers. They became more violent and he demanded more from his followers. My parents realized that they made a mistake after I was born and he demanded that I be raised according to his ideals. My parents went to the Order of the Phoenix, which Harry can explain better, and they became spies for them against You-Know-Who. So I need to pretend to support him, while I am really spying on the kids of other Death Eaters here. Harry, why don't you explain more about the Order and the prophecy" Draco said, leaning back in his chair.

"Sure, Draco. Well, first, I just want to let you know that you can't tell anyone about what we're telling you. Professor Snape told us to tell you, and he must have his reasons. The Order of the Phoenix is an organization of witches and wizards that are working to bring down You-Know-Who and his followers. Dumbledore heads it, and several of the teachers, including Lupin, are members." Hermione nodded, she had guessed as much. "About eleven years ago, one of our members heard a prophecy that could mean the end of the war. I don't know what it said, but it mentioned a child being born in December with the mark of the Order on their arm. Only that child could hope to banish the evil that is spreading now. That's all Sirius told me. He figured that the kid would be in this year, since they'd be turning eleven."

Hermione, however, wasn't listening. At that moment, she realized two things. The first was that she was the child of the prophecy. The second was that something terrible had happened to Ben, since she saw his owl flying outside the window with a letter in its beak.

"I need to tell you guys something, but first there's a letter I need to get." She walked over to the window and opened it for Lara, Ben's owl. She took the letter tightly in her hand, and gave Lara a pat on the head. Lara looked up at her sadly, then flew back out the window. She didn't read it yet, though, since she knew she wasn't ready to tell Harry and Draco about her life before Hogwarts. She sat back down in her chair and turned to the guys. They didn't question her about the letter, she would either tell them or she wouldn't. In the very brief time that they had known Hermione, they had come to understand that she had an inner calm that she could retreat into, where she was unreachable.

"Alright, this probably won't be easy to understand, but I think I understand why Professor Snape wanted you to tell me all of this." She pulled the sleeve of her robe and tshirt back, revealing her mark. "I think I'm the child of the prophecy" She looked at them, trying to gauge their reactions. Draco was silent and Harry looked awestruck. "That makes sense," Draco said. Harry nodded at that. "I think we're going to be seeing a lot of each other, so I'll start with the formal introductions. I'm Draco Malfoy." They all smiled, and Harry went next, "Harry Potter." Harry inclined his head to Hermione for her to introduce herself, "Hermione Granger." They all smiled and shook each other's hands. Then they went up to bed, they could tell it would be a long, but fun, year.

Hermione went up to bed, but didn't go to sleep. She went over to the window and sat so the moon shone on her; she didn't want to light a lamp and risk waking the other girls. She opened Ben's letter and read it carefully.

_Dear Hermione,_

_Know first that there was nothing you could have done to prevent this. You are incredibly bright and I am assuming that you have figured out what has happened to me and why, but your guess is only partly wrong. I wasn't killed only because I helped you. I was killed because I was a spy for the Order of the Phoenix, which I hope you know about by now. I spied on Voldemort and they finally discovered that I was a traitor. My death will cement the loyalty of our other spies. Enough of this, I need to tell you some very important pieces of information that you need to keep to yourself. You are the child that the prophecy refers to, your mark and magical prowess prove it, and again, I hope that you know what I'm referring to. Don't tell any more people than necessary. Remus Lupin, the man that took you to the train, is in the Order and was a good friend of mine, you can trust him and his godson, Harry. Also, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, (yes, your Potions teacher) are spies for the Order as well. If you need help or find yourself in trouble, you can trust Lucius' son, Draco, or Severus. I would advise you to learn as much as you can, as quickly as you can. Voldemort is on the move and I don't know how safe Hogwarts will keep you- you need to be prepared. I have enclosed several pages of spells and techniques, both magical and Muggle, which will help you in the future. After you have mastered, and this is important, only after you have mastered all of them, I want you to go to Severus and only Severus and have him test you and continue training you. Never be afraid of your powers, and don't call Voldemort by anything other than his name, which is Tom Riddle. Never belittle yourself by calling him You-Know-Who. I want to tell you that I am proud of you, and that I had came to regard you as a little sister. I left everything I own to you, and Dumbledore has my will. There are several useful items and books that you can recover from the house during the summer. I also would like it if you told someone about your father, I know it will be hard, but what he's doing is wrong. Remember to do the exercises I attached and practice the spells every night. There's a special room on the seventh floor that will appear when you need it to; just think of what you need it to become and it will appear. Good luck, Hermione._

_Always,_

_Ben_

Hermione wept silently for the loss of the only adult that had showed her love and vowed to practice every night. She remembered the map that Harry had and wrote a note to remind herself to ask him tomorrow.

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They got their time tables at breakfast and saw that they had Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts that day.

Hermione asked Harry if he had heard of a room that appeared when someone needed it. "You know, I think Ron Weasley's brother mentioned it to me. You have to walk past it, thinking of what you need it to become and it will appear. I think it's on the seventh floor. Why?" Harry asked her. "I'll tell you later," Hermione said.

It would be a busy day, so they ate breakfast hurriedly, they were so excited for their first class that neither of the boys noticed that Hermione barely ate anything, but a certain teacher at the Head Table did and scowled slightly. They raced to the dungeons, trying not to get lost, and made it to the Potions room. They found a table for the three of them and set up their supplies. Slowly, the rest of the class filed through, the rest of the Slytherins and Gryffindors arrived and sat down. Harry waved to a red headed boy who was sitting in front of them. "That's Ron Weasley. Most of his family is in the Order" He told Hermione.

Suddenly the door burst open and Snape walked in. "In this class there will be no foolish wand waving, or silly incantations. The art of Potions is subtle, and as such, especially since you are first years, I don't expect many of you to excel in this subject. Now, to test the waters. Can anyone tell me the difference between aconite and monkshood?"

He looked around, almost everyone looked stumped. "I thought as much,

now-" He paused when he saw Hermione's hand go up. "Yes, Miss Granger?" "They're the same plant Professor. There is no difference." She said quietly. "Very good Miss Granger, 5 points to Slytherin. I wonder though, can you tell me what three of the ingredients in the Draught of Living Death are?" He expected her to look confused, she was a Muggleborn, after all, but he was surprised when she nodded, and said, "Asphodel in an infusion of wormwood, valerian roots, and sopophorous bean, Professor."

"Excellent, Miss Granger, another five points. Now, we will start with your first potion-" He broke off when he heard muttering in the back of the room. "Ten points to Gryffindor, Mr. Thomas, for being intelligent enough to speak another language" he said straight faced. Dean Thomas looked confused, "Sir, I wasn't speaking another language." "My mistake. So that will be twenty points from Gryffindor for speaking out of turn and interrupting a teacher. The instructions are on the board, begin." Snape snapped.He sat down at his desk, his eyes scanning the room until they rested on Hermione.

_A Muggle-born first year who knows the ingredients to a potion that sixth years brew. Interesting. I'll have to see how she does in this brewing_ He thought to himself.

After ten minutes, he took to wandering between the cauldrons, causing more than a few first years to look up at him fearfully. When he got to Hermione's cauldron, however, it seemed that she didn't even notice that he was there. She was so immersed in brewing that she didn't notice when he tapped her on the shoulder. "Miss Granger." Snape said. "What are you doing?" "Huh?" Hermione said. "I'm following the instructions on the board sir," Hermione said without meeting Snape's gaze. "Then why is your potion a different color than everyone else's?" He asked. He knew what she had done, but he wanted to see if she knew or if it was an accident.

"Well, sir, on the board, it said to stir counter clockwise forty times, but from what I've read, I thought that adding in a clockwise stir every ten rotations would balance the negative side effects that the snake fangs had in the potion." Again, she said this quietly and without looking at him. He raised a hand to pat her on the shoulder, but she flinched. Not noticeably, but he caught it. "Well done, Miss Granger" He said kindly. "You just brewed a more advanced version of this potion on your first attempt and without instructions. 15 points to Slytherin." He said, and slid past them to sit back at his desk.

He was thrilled that he finally had a student that understood Potions like he did, but worried that she had flinched. _If she was being abused at home it would explain the glamour; she would be hiding her bruises. It would certainly explain why she flinched just a moment ago. And if she is the child of the prophecy, it would explain why I couldn't dispel it, since she is going to be the most powerful witch the world has ever seen. _He thought pensively. He watched her sadly, and wondered why she had been cursed to never know the love of a family, just like him.

When the class was over, everyone bottled their potion and handed it in to Snape to be graded. Then they hurried to Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. They made it just in time, since the dungeons were a long way from the Transfiguration room.

"Hello, students, I am Professor McGonagall, and I'm the Transfiguration teacher. Now, to be successful at Transfiguration, you must have a good sense of concentration and will power. Getting distracted will cause your spell to fail. Now, for our first lesson, we will attempt the Switching Spell, which, as the name implies, allows the caster to switch two things. Now, wands away for the moment, and repeat after me, _modifio inres_" the class dutifully repeated the spell. "Good. Now, concentrate on switching the quill in front of you with the erasers I set in the front of the class. When you're ready, try it."

Soon the class was filled with the noise of everyone trying the spell. Hermione looked around, wrinkling her nose at the level of noise that her classmates were making. She took a moment to concentrate, and then attempted the spell. On her second try she was able to switch the quill with the eraser, and then switch them back. "Very good, Miss Granger. 5 points to Slytherin." By the end of the class, Draco and Harry had managed the spell as well, and were busy switching each other's textbooks back and forth. Hermione had even managed to help a boy in Gryffindor named Neville Longbottom switch his quill for the eraser.

Lunch was next, and everyone was so excited that they didn't notice that, once again, Hermione barely ate anything. She pulled out her Potions book and started reading instead.

After lunch was Charms with Professor Flitwick. They were taught a spell which allowed an object to float up in the air. Once again, Hermione got the spell quicker than anyone, and eventually moved on to lifting heavier things. She helped Harry when he couldn't pronounce the spell right, and he almost had it by the end of the class.

Harry was really excited to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts, since Lupin would be teaching. He and Professor Quirrel split the teaching, with Lupin teaching the first, third, fifth, and sixth years, and Quirrel teaching the second, fourth, and seventh years. There were certain times that Lupin couldn't teach during the year, though, in which case Quirrel would teach all the classes.

"Alright, everyone, settle down." Lupin said. "Now, Defense Against the Dark Arts is not an easy class, especially in light of recent activities" Everyone knew he was referring to several Death Eater attacks on Muggle towns. "As such, this will be a very hands-on class, with little in the way of written homework" There were several cheers at this. "It will be more important to be able to use the spells you will learn than to write papers on the theory behind them." Again, many in the class gave quiet cheers.

"Alright, we're going to split up into two groups and see how many spells everyone knows. Here are chalkboards and chalk; whichever group has the most defensive and offensive spells wins. And before anyone asks, I have several bars of Honeydukes chocolate to split between the winners." Lupin didn't even have to say 'go' and the two teams were already writing. Hermione had the advantage of being on a team where almost all of the others had magical parents, so they knew a number of spells.

Hermione's group won, but as they were dividing the chocolate, Hermione said, "I don't want any; I'm still full from lunch." Everyone looked at her as if she had two heads. "Are you sure, I mean, it's _Honeydukes_" Said Katie Kirby, a fellow Slytherin first year. "Yea, I'm sure, someone else can have mine." No one argued with her after that, who were they to deny extra chocolate?

As they walked to the Great Hall for dinner, Hermione said to the guys, "Hey, I'm gonna go check something in the library, k? I'm not that hungry." Draco and Harry looked at her. "Um, sure. See you in the common room later?" The two boys walked to the Great Hall, talking about the upcoming Quidditch tryouts.

Hermione went straight to the seventh floor and began walking around and concentrating on a room big enough for her to practice in, with soundproof walls. Less than ten minutes later, a door appeared as if by magic. _Well duh,_ she thought with a smile, _I am a witch, after all_. She began on the first page with a series of physical exercises that, as Ben explained, would condition her reflexes and boost her endurance and strength. She was exhausted after half an hour, but she continued until all her repetitions were done. Then she laboriously moved on to the defensive spells Ben had recommended. She practiced until the warning bell for curfew rang, and then hurried down to the Slytherin common room. _I need to check that map of Harry's for shortcuts_ She thought on her way down.

When she awoke the next morning, she was stiff and sore; only years of practice allowed her to hide her discomfort enough so that everyone, or so she thought, was fooled. Her second day passed very similarly to her first, except that today she had Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, History of Magic, and a free period. _Seems that I have all the 'hard' subjects on one day and the 'easy' subjects on another,_ Hermione thought. She used her free period to train in the Room of Requirement, as she had read it was called.

Hermione had little difficulty adapting to life at Hogwarts, indeed, within the week, she was getting around with the ease of a seventh-year; of course, the secret passages she had found with the Marauder's Map helped too. Harry and Draco, having been raised in the wizarding world, adapted likewise, but they didn't seem to be able to avoid the crowds that stormed through the halls. Hermione had a knack for disappearing and reappearing silently.

By the time the first weekend of the year rolled around, the whole school knew that Hermione was the first Muggleborn in the history of Hogwarts to be sorted into Slytherin, and that she was incredibly good at everything she tried, especially Potions.

Hermione spent the weekend outside, with Harry and Draco, reading and writing notes to herself in a notebook she kept with her at all times. Harry and Draco had tried to read it once, just to see what she was writing, and the book had shrieked so loudly that they were deaf for the next five minutes. Surprisingly, no one near them heard anything; it was as if the spell only affected them. After that Hermione got up with an amused look on her face and walked away, saying something about going to the library.

"Hey Harry, d'you ever wonder where Hermione goes when she's not in the common room? Because she doesn't always go to the library like she says she does" Draco asked Harry on Saturday, after Hermione had left them, once again. "Where else could she go? Wait a second-" Harry got a gleam in his eye and leaned in towards Draco. "We could follow her, Remus and Sirius gave me my dad's old invisibility cloak before I came here" Draco gasped, cloaks like that were rare, only the old Pureblood families had one, and Lucius hadn't given theirs to Draco yet. "Let's do it! Keep it in your bag, and we'll follow her the next time she leaves."

It was almost a full month later that they finally got the opportunity to follow Hermione. They had noticed slight changes in her. She seemed to be tired more and more often, and while her schoolwork never suffered even the tiniest bit, she seemed distant and unfocused in some classes. The teachers had noticed it seemed, since Harry and Draco, when they were walking around under the invisibility cloak trying to follow Hermione, who had disappeared, overheard McGonagall and Snape talking about her.

"Absolutely brilliant student, isn't she Severus? O, she reminds me of you when you were a student. I only wish she would warm up a little. Hermione seems like an old woman stuck in an adolescent's body" McGonagall said. "Yes, she is rather withdrawn. I think that hanging around with Messers Potter and Malfoy will do her a world of good." Snape confided in her. McGonagall nodded her head in agreement and asked Snape about the next staff meeting as they walked away.

Harry and Draco quickly walked away from the teachers and made towards the Common Room. An hour and a half later, Hermione came in, panting slightly with red cheeks. "Hey guys, I need to tell you something" She said, sensing that they had discovered a secret and that it would be better than hiding it. She gave them a quick overview of Ben, the exercises he sent her, and what she was doing. Draco noticed that she left out her home life and decided not to question her about it. _I know she's hiding something, alright, several somethings, but she'll tell us in her own time. Pressuring her now isn't going to help. She needs to be able to trust us. We'll have to show her that we trust her first, though. _

From then on, the three of them would travel to the Room of Requirement together every night and train. They were glad that Harry had his cloak, since they had returned after curfew several times. Slowly, they all began to show the results of the training Hermione walked them through. They eventually began to practice their spellwork on each other, holding mock duels now and then.

Halloween came with much anticipation and Draco explained some of the traditions of the holiday to Hermione during the Feast. He could tell that she enjoyed learning about it, so he lent her a book about wizarding traditions the next day. Soon it was November, and Hermione was surprised at how fast the days were going. Classes and homework were no problem to her; her fellow Slytherins, however, were a bigger problem. They bullied and harassed her, but she never once told Snape, although she suspected that he knew about it.

The coming holiday season filled Hermione with dread until she learned that she could stay at Hogwarts. She became much happier and started to plan for gifts for her friends. For Harry, she got a Quidditch book, since he said he wanted to try out for the team next year. For Draco, she got a quill in the shape of a snake that would correct his atrocious spelling on homework assignments. She sent Snape an anonymous Christmas card, although he figured out who sent it. Hermione didn't think he would appreciate it if she embarrassed him by personally delivering the card to her Head of House. Harry got her a copy of Hogwarts a History, and Draco got her an advanced spellbook on defensive magic.

During the holiday, both Harry and Draco went home, they invited Hermione, but she felt that she would be intruding and didn't want anyone to ask her why she wasn't going back to her own home. Her stay at Hogwarts was peaceful. There were no classes, no annoying people who distracted her from working. She got all of her work done in the first two days of break, and continued to train in the Room of Requirement. Snape, seeing that she was bored, offered a solution; he needed to restock the potions for the Hospital Wing, and asked if she wouldn't mind helping him. Hermione readily agreed, and the rest of her break flew by.

One night in January they were returning from the Room of Requirement after curfew when Harry tripped and the cloak fell off. Of course, Filch chose that moment to turn the corner, and after spotting them, called for a teacher, who happened to be McGonagall. "I am shocked that the three of you would wander around after hours, what do you think you're doing?" She asked them. "Well, Professor, we were-" but Harry was cut off by Hermione who said "We were just exploring, Professor, we heard about Peeves and wanted to see if we could find him."

She looked up at her Professor, eyes innocent and wide, and McGonagall knew that would be the only story she got out of the three of them. "Very well, the three of you shall get a detention this Friday night at 9:00 with Mr. Filch, and lose 25 points each. I will also be letting Professor Snape know about this. I will escort you all to your common room, let's go."

The three followed McGonagall like cows to the slaughterhouse; they knew their housemates wouldn't be thrilled about the loss of 75 points, although Hermione had made more points than anyone else in Slytherin this year. They entered the common room quickly and tried to hurry to bed but stopped in their tracks when they heard McGonagall say, "Miss Granger, could I talk to you for a moment?" She nodded to the boys, and they continued up to their dormitory.

"Miss Granger, I want to know what you three were doing sneaking around at night. Even Hogwarts isn't safe, and a student such as yourself shouldn't take any chances." McGonagall said with a worried look. Despite the fact that Hermione was in Slytherin, McGonagall had developed a soft spot for the girl. She was mature and intelligent, but didn't flaunt her knowledge, and she also had a quiet self-assurance that was projected to everyone around her.

"Professor McGonagall, when you say a student like me, what do you mean?" Hermione asked, as much to see what the older woman would say as to change the subject.

"Well, what I mean is that you are a first year student, a female, and a Muggleborn. Not all the students in Hogwarts are as innocent as some teachers would like to believe. I would like to see you take better care of yourself. Professor Snape has told me that he hasn't seen you eating enough lately. You need to keep yourself well-nourished or your magic will suffer. And I know that I am not your Head of House, but please, if you need someone to talk to, my door is always open."

Hermione nodded her understanding and went upstairs before McGonagall could remember to ask her what she had been doing after curfew. As much as Hermione like Professor McGonagall, most of the Professors, in fact, she couldn't let herself trust them yet. After all, the three people who she had trusted the most had left her; her mom died, her dad was abusive, and Ben had allowed himself to be killed. She knew logically that her mother and Ben weren't to blame for leaving her, but it hurt nonetheless.

Classes continued into the bitter cold of January; Professor Snape had given the Trio the same talk that McGonagall had given them and told them to report to Hargrid's house to serve their detention on Friday night. They watched the Quidditch game on Thursday; Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff, and laughed at the effort the Hufflepuff's gave. Compared to them, the Slytherin team looked like professionals. In all fairness, Hermione reflected, Hufflepuff lost their captain of three years and their two star players last year when they graduated, and the team hadn't been the same.

On Friday at nine o'clock the three of them walked to Hagrid's house for their detention, wondering what they had to do and hoping they wouldn't have to help with any of the animals Hagrid kept as "pets".

Hagrid met them outside and told them that they were going to be helping him clear out the quarters that housed several of the magical creatures they were studying. They groaned, but consented, after all, the creatures they were learning about weren't any more harmful than flobberworms, although they left a bit of a mess.

After two hours, Hagrid led them back to his house at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and was about to lead them on the way back to Hogwarts when three figures came out of the shadows. Only Hermione noticed them and pulled her wand out immediately, causing the others to look at her.

"_Avada Kedavra"_ rang out in the silence of the night, and with a flash of green Hagrid fell to the ground and didn't move. Just as swiftly, a second figure disarmed and stunned the three Slytherins, even though Hermione fought with all her might to hold on to her wand.

"I didn't count on the oaf having company this late," the figure on the left said, and from his voice they could tell he was male.

"It's no matter, but we need to _Obliviate_ them and put in some false memories so no one at the school finds out about this" As the figure said this, he removed his hood, and Draco recognized him as Rabastian Lestrange, which meant, he guessed, that Rodolphus and Bellatrix were the other two robed figures.

"We can't kill Potter for obvious reasons, since the Dark Lord has marked him, and Draco is faithful to us. It would look suspicious if we killed the girl, so we have to keep them all alive, but with no memory of this" He explained his logic to the other two, mostly for Bellatrix's benefit, since he didn't want her to have a fit. "Do you have the Polyjuice Potion?" As Rodolphus walked over to Hagrid's body, Rabastian pulled out a vial and handed it to his brother.

Bellatrix walked over to the still forms of the Slytherins and began performing the necessary _Obliviate_, she also formed the memory that would take its place in their minds. Each, in turn, was given this fake memory and a quick _Imperio_ had them back at the castle before they could do anything.

Everything was proceeding according to plan…

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Alright, there's chapter 2.

Please let me know if you think I'm moving through the characters too fast. I feel like I have taken a lot of their traits and quirks for granted and I can explain more if you let me know!

Also, I don't have this story written in stone yet, if you have any ideas to add I would love to incorporate some of them.

I am open to criticism, but keep it nice please.

As always,

Sinkme


	4. The Stone and a Spell

Alright! Here's chapter 3; the second half of Hermione and co's first year at Hogwarts.

Maintanence:

_Thought_

"Normal speaking"

_"Spell"_

_Nonverbal Spell_

Disclaimer: Insert witty response for why I don't own Harry Potter or Severus Snape…no matter how much I wish I did

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Hermione blinked, _how did I get to the castle door?_ The last thing she remembered was, wait, what _did _she remember? She saw Harry and Draco walking ahead of her as if nothing was wrong, but her feet seemed to be on autopilot, and she found herself walking to the dormitory. _NO_! Her mind said. _I need to figure out what happened_.

She forced herself to change directions and walk to Snape's room, and timidly knocked on the door. "Come in" the voice of the Potion's Master drawled. Hermione stepped into the classroom, still concentrating on her memories, trying to sort out what happened.

"Miss Granger." No answer. "Miss Granger." Still, Hermione remained ignorant of his presence. He walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. She blinked, and looked up with fearful eyes, then flinched and backed up two steps before she could control her reaction.

"_Damn, I forgot_," Snape mentally criticized himself for forgetting her jumpiness.

"Miss Granger, what did you need?" he asked, while taking a step back to show her that he would give her the space she required.

"Well, sir, I'm a bit confused." She paused, unsure of how to express what she was feeling. He remained silent, giving her the time to work it out. "We had detention tonight, and I barely remember any of it. I found myself at the castle door with no memory of how I got there. I also have- two, yeah I guess that's it- two separate memories of the events of the detention. One is a bit hazy, and the other is clear, but I don't remember doing anything from the second memory. And my head hurts a lot." She said all of this calmly, although it was clear that she was confused and upset.

Snape was confused as well. He knew that using Legilimency on her would make it very clear as to what happened, but, given what he thought her childhood had been like he didn't want to enter her mind without permission.

"Miss Granger, there is a branch of magic that will allow me to view your memories. I will be able to determine what is going on and what happened, but I don't want to use it without your permission. I will be entering your mind and viewing your memories" he said gently.

After he said this he saw her eyes widen with alarm at first, only to be replaced with a mask of detachment. "You have my permission, Professor." With that, she sat down at the table and looked up at his expectantly.

"Look right into my eyes," he told her. She looked into the black depths of his eyes, seeing everything and nothing all at once. She felt herself becoming lost in his eyes, until the scene changed, and she found herself watching Snape.

"_I must be in my mind_," she thought. She recognized her surroundings instantly; they were in Diagon Alley, she could see that all of the shops were closed, except for Ollivander's. She wondered at that, since she had never taken the time to consciously store her memories or organize her mind. It was something that apparently came naturally to her. She walked quickly into Ollivander's, seeing that Snape was still looking around.

After seeing the rows of wand boxes that lined the shelves, she realized that her memories must be stored in them, but when she opened a box, there was a wand inside. Experimentally, she gave the wand a wave, and found that it projected- for lack of a better word- the memory it was connected to.

She saw that in the center of the room there were two wands connected by two separate memories, but the memories were melded together, so it made one erratic picture. She decided that it was this that was causing the problem and went back outside to get Snape.

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Snape, meanwhile, was still gathering his surroundings. _Incredible_, he thought. _Her mind is far more organized than half of the members of the Outer Circle of the Order. She really is an incredible witch if this is something that comes to her naturally._

He saw her coming towards him and walked to meet her halfway. "Sir, I think I found the problem." She said, and he followed her into Ollivander's and noticed the wands.

"_To already be storing memories in objects and be able to recall them at any moment_," he looked around the room, entranced by the number of boxes he found. "_She must be storing them according to her current needs_." He thought, as he saw several wands out and projecting streams of light that had images of books he assumed she had read. He noticed that an entire shelf in the back was dark, as if the light in the rest of the room couldn't penetrate the darkness of the memories stored there.

He also noticed that he couldn't read her thoughts or the emotions tied to any of the memories that surrounded him. In almost every student, and certainly every Muggleborn student that he had tested with Legilimency he had been able to read them like an open book. With Hermione, it was like he was dealing with a shell, and he shivered at the thought of one so young being so emotionless.

He turned his attention to the wands in the center, and after studying them, realized that one of the memories was hers and was the true account of what happened, and the other was a false memory that had been implanted.

"_Someone tried to Obliviate her_." Snape thought, and moved in to examine Hermione's memory closer. _And she was able to resist it to a degree._

He studied her memory and suddenly his face went ghostly pale. "We need to go to the Headmaster, now" He told her, and he left her mind immediately. But when he awoke in his own body, he realized that she was still unconscious. I _probably overreached her limits, staying in her mind that long._ He floated her body to the Hospital Wing and told Pomfrey to keep an eye on her, but that she would be fine in the morning. Then he hurried to Dumbledore's office.

"Albus, our security has been breached" He said. "My boy, what do you mean, the castle hasn't been breached" Dumbledore said, although the perennial twinkle in his eyes had clouded somewhat.

"Hermione Granger just came to me, she said she was having trouble remembering what happened during her detention and had flashes of two different memories from the occasion. With her permission, I entered her mind and I saw something most disturbing" He paused, trying to gauge Dumbledore's reaction. When he saw that the Headmaster looked entirely serious, he continued,

"I saw Hagrid being murdered by Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastian, and then I heard Rodolphus ask about a Polyjuice potion. The potion that Rabastian pulled out, however, did not look like the traditional Polyjuice, which concerns me. There are several other brewers for the Dark Lord, one of them had been experimenting with potions that change people's appearance and other physical aspects in order to hide Death Eaters better, even to cloak the Dark Mark. He might have developed a longer lasting or an improved version of the Polyjuice Potion."

Severus saw that Dumbledore's face was tight, and he knew that the older man would miss Hagrid's kind nature, but hoped that the Headmaster would concentrate on the bigger picture; that there was now a Death Eater in Hogwarts.

Dumbledore looked at Snape and told him to keep an eye on Hagrid. He then sent Fawkes to summon the other teachers and tell them what happened. He warned them all to be careful around Hagrid and not to go see him alone, since they didn't know yet who was impersonating Hagrid and what exactly their orders were. He told the Heads of Houses to inform their students that no one was allowed off the immediate grounds of Hogwarts without a teacher accompanying them, as a new security measure Dumbledore has decided to enact in light of the recent attacks. They all nodded, knowing the students would understand and comply with the rule.

Snape waited in the corner of the room for the other teachers to leave, knowing that McGonagall would stay behind and that he needed to stay as well. He had come to know the woman quite well throughout his years as a teacher and looked to her as a favorite aunt of sorts.

She was the one who usually helped him after the revels when he was too stubborn to go to Madame Pomfrey and too weak to take care of his wounds himself. She never judged him or tried to get him to change his mind, of which he was eternally grateful. She didn't mollycoddle him or beat around the bush; she told him exactly what injuries he had and how she was going to treat them, and he treated her to a half-lie about the revel- always sparing her the details of what she didn't need to know.

As such, he had developed a strong attachment for the older woman, and was fiercely protective of her. Although they were supposed to be rivals, like their Houses were, they were very friendly and enjoyed the show of sharp words and witty retorts they put up for the students. They even bet on the Quidditch games.

Snape was snapped out of his reprieve by a sudden thought; _Why didn't the Dark Lord tell me of this plan. Surely if this was done on his orders, and it had to have been done on his word, he would have approached me about another Death Eater at Hogwarts._ Realization came to him suddenly, like a sharp punch in his gut, _He doesn't trust me anymore. _

Snape looked into the Headmaster's eyes and saw understanding in them. Dumbledore had come to the same conclusion. McGonagall, who was used to these silent exchanges, quirked an eyebrow and said "Are you going to tell me, or is this another secret?"

Snape thought it would be good to tell her, but as he opened his mouth a shooting pain jabbed his left forearm. "_Damn! Speak of the devil"_ he thought as he clutched his arm. "I will be back as soon as I can, hopefully informed about the plan."

With that he strode down a familiar path that led to the edge of the protective wards around Hogwarts. He took out his Death Eater robe and mask, that had been shrunken, from his pocket, enlarged them, and put them on before touching his Mark and apparating with a resounding "Pop."

No sooner had his feet touched the ground than he had been hit with the Cruciatus Curse. Judging by the amount of pain he was in, he knew it was the Dark Lord who was casting it on him; a very pissed off Dark Lord.

After thirty seconds he lifted his wand and Severus breathed deeply, trying to regain control over his muscles and soothe his screaming nerves.

"Severus, why do you not have any information for me?" Voldemort hissed quietly.

"My Lord, Dumbledore has kept me under tight guard these past weeks and I could not jeopardize my position as your spy by raising his suspicions."

Another _Crucio_ followed this answer; Snape knew that no matter what he had said he would have been tortured. _Voldemort must be really desperate for something if he's this angry. _He thought

Voldemort ended the curse with a flick of his wand and looked at Snape. Snape took a second to strengthen the wards around his mind and then met the Dark Lord's gaze, knowing that he needed proof of Snape's word. It was by no means painless, and Severus flinched several times from the intensity of the mind probe. Flashes of staged memories with Dumbledore flitted across his mind, showing Dumbledore restricting Snape to the school's grounds.

"One of our own betrayed us over the summer, Severus," the Dark Lord began. "He came into contact with the child of the prophecy and did not come to me with the child or any information. I sent Lucius, Rodolphus, and Bella to deal with him, but I am frustrated that the traitor took the child's identity with him to the grave. I need to find and destroy the child before they become a threat" Voldemort looked at Snape appraisingly.

"It must hurt you, Severus, to pretend to be the old fool's lapdog" Voldemort said. "Therefore, to help you along, I have planted a Death Eater within the grounds of Hogwarts. I have Rodolphus impersonating that fool of a caretaker and I want the two of you will work together for two common goals: obtaining the Sorcerer's Stone that is in the castle, and discovering the identity of the child of the prophecy. I expect results by the end of May."

Severus knew a dismissal when he heard one; he kneeled and then apparated away. Coming to the gates, he swayed, dizzy from the after-effects of the Cruciatus curse and apparating. He walked to the Headmaster's office, sorting through the information he received and trying to formulate a plan.

He needed to delay Voldemort learning Hermione's identity until it was no longer possible to shield her. He also needed to protect the Sorcerer's Stone and if possible, capture Rodolphus. He noticed that he was at the gargoyle, and said with a sour face, "kit kats" then entered Dumbledore's office.

After explaining what Voldemort told him, Dumbledore exhaled softly. Snape looked at him questioningly. "I was afraid for you, my boy. I thought for a moment that Voldemort didn't trust you anymore and you might not return tonight. I can see now that he was waiting for the right time to tell you. It is heartening, however, that he doesn't yet know of Hermione. We are fortunate that Ben helped her get here where we could watch her. She should be safe over the summer."

Dumbledore looked up when Snape snorted. Snape debated telling Dumbledore of his suspicions and decided not to say anything for the moment. He shook his head and said instead, "I trust that will be all? I would like to retire and rest."

Like clockwork, McGonagall came in and shooed Severus to Pomfrey's office to make sure he was as healthy as he claimed. McGonagall walked with him and on the way, he explained the fears that he and Dumbledore shared before the meeting with Voldemort. Poppy came in and gave him a Calming Draught to loosen his nerves after the bouts of Crucio. She told him that rest would fix the rest of the tremors from the after effects of the curse. He nodded, although he knew that nothing would ever fix the tremors completely.

As often as he could, he avoided Minerva and Poppy after his meetings with the Dark Lord. He didn't like being around people after the revels, and he often ended up snapping at them and leaving as fast as his injuries would allow him. Only on the rare occasions when he returned relatively unharmed did he allow Minerva to herd him to the Hospital Wing and Poppy to cluck over him. He knew they meant well, but it was hard for him to open up to them.

She told him that Hermione was simply exhausted from the probe in her mind, and that she would be fine for classes in the morning. Snape nodded to both women in wordless thanks and went to his room.

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The next day was a trial for Severus, he was still recovering from the Cruciatus curse, and randomly twitching in the middle of class wasn't good for the students. Although the Gryffindor-Slytherin potions class for the first years was quieter than the older classes, he still received several looks from the Gryffindors that were less than kind whenever he would seize. He dismissed class early, but saw that one student remained.

"Is there a problem Miss Granger, or do you need something?" he asked without looking up.

"Well, sir, I wanted to thank you for helping me yesterday. My headache is gone; but I was wondering what exactly happened. I know that Hagrid was murdered, but I don't understand why or what that means for me and the other students" She explained.

_She's thought this through a little bit if she's looking at the effects of what happened. Most students would be more upset that someone had been killed in front of them._ He answered, "I think it would be best if you didn't mention this to anyone, Miss Granger. Suffice it to say that it is being taken care of and that you should not approach anyone that resembles Hagrid."

"Thank you sir." She turned to go, and then said "I hope you feel better."

Snape blinked; he could count on one hand the number of students who actually cared about him in Hogwarts_. Draco, of course, since I'm his godfather, Harry to a degree. _Snape grimaced, was that it? He shook his head, _I have more important things to worry about than who cares that I'm not feeling well. _Snape made it a point to keep his distance from Rodolphus, hoping that if he stayed away, the fool would try a plan on his own and then get captured.

Classes continued as they normally did until it was almost May. By then Hermione, Draco, and Harry had developed a reputation as three of the smartest and most powerful students in the school. Draco and Harry had also begun working with the Weasley twins and the pranks they created wreaked havoc in the school. One memorable occasion left all of the teachers with high squeaky voices for two days. It was two of the best days of class, except for Potions; the Potions Master wouldn't belittle himself by speaking, so all of his instructions were written and he sent Howlers to students who made the potion incorrectly. From then on, Snape was left out of any of the pranks that were pulled.

Harry, Draco, and Hermione all attended classes and meals together, after dinner, Hermione would go immediately to the Common Room or the Library to do research or homework, and Harry and Draco would go to the Quidditch Pitch and watch the Slytherin team practice. They would all meet in the Common Room an hour before curfew to finish any homework or study for an exam, and then they would go to the Room of Requirement to train.

The training was slowly paying off for all three of them; they were all able to cast more powerful spells than their classmates, in addition to firing faster and more accurately. They were physically stronger, which made it easier for them to cast more advanced spells and it increased their magical core. They had to dumb it down in class so they wouldn't draw any unwanted attention, but it made dueling between them fun.

One night they were coming back from the Room of Requirement and Hermione spotted Hagrid's name on the Marauder's Map, right next to Professor Quirrell. Against her better judgment, she put the Cloak on over the three of them and went in that direction.

"Guys you have to be absolutely silent, there's something I want to check out." They came to a stop behind the pair, and slowly circled them until they could see both of their faces. Hagrid was talking to Quirrell, who looked rather nervous, although that was normal for him.

"I could use ye help wit sumthin" Hagrid was saying to Quirrell. Quirrell nodded slowly and said, "A-anyth-thing that would h-help, Hagrid. What do y-you need?"

"I need t' find a certain Stone," Hagrid said, then pulled out a wand and said "_Imperio_." Hagrid looked smug and said, "At least I don't have to pretend to be an imbecile now. Alright, Quirrell, you will assist me in anyway necessary to retrieve the Sorcerer's Stone tonight. You will help me get through the obstacles blocking the Stone and you will not try to alert any of the teachers."

With that, they both walked down the nearest flight of stairs, with Quirrell walking a little mechanically than Hagrid.

"Hermione, what was that about?" Harry asked. "And what's the Sorcerer's Stone?"

"We need to get to Professor Snape" She said. She threw the Cloak off while running towards the dungeons. Harry and Draco looked at each other, and then followed Hermione. Harry was stuffing the Map and his Cloak into the bag he carried.

Hermione reached Snape's classroom and went in, she realized that she didn't know where he was and it would take too long to find another teacher.

Snape was at the desk in his chambers, grading the last of the fifth year papers when he felt the ward in his classroom being breached. _Probably the Weasley twins trying to steal some ingredients_, he thought as he put on his familiar black robes with a scowl.

He entered the classroom through a hidden door that connected to his chambers and looked around for the red heads. He was surprised when he saw Hermione looking around the room, and Harry and Draco walking through the door.

"You know, there is a rule about being out after curfew" he said while coming out of his hiding place. Harry and Draco jumped, but Hermione turned to him calmly, as if she had known he was there.

"Professor, you have to hurry. Hagrid used the Imperius Curse on Professor Quirrell and they're both going to get the Sorcerer's Stone" She told him frantically.

Snape stood there for a moment, contemplating the best course of action. "Alright, first you three need to get back to the Common Room. Given the circumstances I will not ask why you were out late or punish you, but you need to get back now and not discuss this with anyone."

The three first years walked out of the classroom while Snape was using the Floo to call Dumbledore and McGonagall. Hermione asked Harry for his Cloak and he handed it to her, confused. She put it over herself and told the boys to go back to the Common Room. They looked at each other and shrugged, long experience with Hermione while they were doing homework told them it would be better if they didn't argue.

Hermione waited for Snape to come out of his room and then silently followed him. She didn't dare follow him when he went into the Headmaster's office; instead, she waited for the three of them to come back and followed them from there. Even though she kept her distance, she still heard parts of their conversation.

"Are you sure it's wise for only the three of us to go?" McGonagall asked. "Actually, it will be just the two of us, my dear, Severus will wait where he can't be seen and help if we need it. It wouldn't do for a supposed Death Eater to thwart the plans of his master. And there was no one else I could ask for. Filius is a wonderful duelist but he hasn't been the same since the first war, and Remus is still recovering from his monthly visitor."

This answer seemed to satisfy McGonagall, because she nodded and they proceeded silently through the halls until they came to the out of bounds door in the third floor corridor. Dumbledore nodded to them and said "Remember that Hagrid isn't who he seems and is not to be taken lightly and Quirrell is under the Imperius curse, if we can avoid hurting him permanently I would be glad, but act as necessary."

They entered the room and Hermione had to run in before they shut the door. She looked around and almost gasped at what she saw; in the middle of the room there was a huge three-headed dog sleeping.

Dumbledore had already jumped down a trapdoor when Hermione had come to her senses, she waited until McGonagall and Snape had jumped through as well to look in. She knew she was risking exposure if she jumped in and landed near one of the teachers, but she jumped anyway. She bounced on whatever she landed on, and then a bright light made it shrink away. She felt the thing's grip on her legs loosen and she fell to the floor. She made sure she was still covered in the Cloak and then continued to follow the teachers.

They walked into a room filled with flying keys and Snape raised an eyebrow. "I hope you're not expecting me to retrieve the key. I haven't flown in years" Dumbledore laughed at this, but said nothing. Instead he raised his wand and Summoned the correct key.

Hermione wondered what was going on after they walked into the largest room yet and saw a giant chessboard. _Maybe it's protection for the Stone, although they seem to be handling the obstacles easily; did they think these tasks would really stop anyone?_

McGonagall laughed a little when they came to her protection and waved her wand in a complicated motion. The chess pieces stood aside and the teachers continued through the room unhindered. Again, Hermione had to suppress a gasp when she saw the creature that the next room yielded. She thanked her lucky stars that the troll was already knocked out; otherwise the teachers might have noticed her in the scuffle to knock it out.

Snape had a wicked grin on his face when they went through the next door. "I would have liked to see if either of you could figure my riddle out, but now's not the time" He walked forward and picked up the smallest bottle then tapped it with his wand. "I made it refill itself so we can all get through. You two go first, I will follow once I Disillusion myself."

McGonagall and Dumbledore nodded then each took a mouthful of the potion. They walked through the black fire without looking back. Snape cast a Disillusioning spell on himself, then also took some of the potion and went through the fire.

Hermione was late entering the room, so that by the time she had walked into the room, the teachers had already walked through the fire. Because of this, the potions reset themselves and it was left to Hermione to solve the riddle.

She looked at the parchment on the table and read:

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, __  
__Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, __  
__One among us seven will let you move ahead, __  
__Another will transport the drinker back instead, __  
__Two among our number hold only nettle wine, __  
__Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. __  
__Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore, __  
__To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: __  
__First, however slyly the poison tries to hide __  
__You will always find some on nettle wine's left side; __  
__Second, different are those who stand at either end, __  
__But if you would move onward, neither is your friend; __  
__Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, __  
__Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides; __  
__Fourth, the second left and the second on the right __  
__Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight. _

She reread the riddle three times before picking up the smallest bottle and drinking it. That was easy; the biggest and the smallest bottles couldn't be poison, the second on the left and on the right couldn't be the potion since they're twins, and the ones on the end aren't the potion to move forward either, which leaves only the smallest one. Confident in her choice, she swallowed the potion and walked through the black fire.

Upon entering the room, she saw two duels; McGonagall was fighting Quirrell, and Dumbledore was fighting someone that was looking less and less like Hagrid. The Polyjuice Potion must finally be wearing off. That's the Death Eater from my memory!

Hermione looked around for Snape but couldn't find him. She turned back to the duels when she heard McGonagall give a triumphant shout and saw Quirrell's wand fly from his hand, he was then bound by ropes from McGonagall's wand. Soon after, Dumbledore caught the Death Eater with a Stunner, and then he and McGonagall walked over to the giant mirror that was standing in the center of the room.

The Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress had their backs to the captives, so they didn't see that Rodolphus had faked being hit with a Stunner. Snape couldn't move fast enough to stun him and the Death Eater had already gotten off two spells; both of them were "_Avada Kedavra." _They soared towards the pair in front of the mirror as Snape looked on helplessly.

"_Servotutus"_ rang out in the silence after the curses were cast, and Dumbledore and McGonagall were surrounded by a blue sphere that absorbed the Killing Curses and left them unharmed.

Everyone present looked to where Hermione Granger had thrown off the Invisibility Cloak she was wearing. She was holding her wand up with a determined expression on her face. Seeing that the Professors were okay, Hermione lowered her wand and promptly fell to the ground; exhausted from the effort it cost her to perform the spell.

Snape took advantage of the confusion to Stun and bind Rodolphus from behind, so he wouldn't know who did it. With that done, he walked over to Hermione and cast a diagnostic spell. Her pulse was steady, so he knew she had just overused her magic.

He looked up at Dumbledore, who for once, looked surprised. _I would be too, if an eleven year old saved my life because I was too careless to bind a supposedly stunned Death Eater. That magic, though, I've never heard of that spell. _Snape asked "Dumbledore, have you heard of that spell before?"

He shook his head "No, but that is an extremely powerful bit of magic. I've never heard of anything that could block the Killing Curse. She really must be the most powerful witch the world's ever seen to use magic like that."

McGonagall looked down at the girl who had saved her, _How sad that she must bear this burden so young. _

McGonagall levitated Hermione to the Hospital Wing, where she would rest and be fully recovered by tomorrow afternoon. Dumbledore stayed with Snape and the two bound men to fix the situation in their favor.

Together, Dumbledore and Snape put a powerful memory charm on Rodolphus to make him forget most of what happened, including Hermione's appearance, and put a false memory in its place to keep Snape from getting blamed for the mission's failure by Voldemort. They found that being under the Imperius Curse had damaged Quirrell's mind beyond repair, and Flooed him to Saint Mungo's. They didn't have to worry about anyone discovering anything of importance in his mind.

Dumbledore and Snape talked late into the night about the ramifications of that night for Hermione and also for Snape himself. They agreed that Snape should tell Voldemort that Rodolphus acted against Snape's plan and that he was captured and is being kept in a place not even Snape knew about.

Dumbledore also decided to destroy the Stone, and sent an owl to Nicholas Flamel, the man who helped him create it. Though Snape was against it, they decided not to tell Hermione about the Prophecy. Instead they went to ask her about the spell she used.

Hermione sat up with a frown; she did not like the Hospital Wing. She had nothing against the kind matron, but ever since her mum had died she hadn't like hospitals.

She looked up when Snape and Dumbledore entered the room and sighed inwardly. She hadn't known that they were safe until now since she didn't want to ask Madam Pomfrey.

Snape walked over to her bed and asked her how she was. "I feel better, just a bit of a headache" She replied. He handed her a potion to get rid of the headache and turned to her.

"Miss Granger, I would like to know what you were thinking when you foolishly disobeyed my order for you to return to your dorm."

Hermione looked down; she didn't want Snape to see how much his disappointment hurt her, "I don't know, sir. I just felt like something was going to happen and I would be needed."

"Well, due to the fact that you saved two staff members from being killed, the Headmaster has told me that you should be exempt from punishment" Snape inclined his head to Dumbledore.

"Miss Granger, I would like to thank you for saving me, as would Professor McGonagall. I was wondering, though, where you learned the spell you used." Dumbledore smiled to encourage her.

Hermione was torn; she knew that she could trust the two men before her, but she also didn't want to tell them about Ben's letter and the spells he gave her. He had explained to her that the spells could only be used by someone with a lot of magical energy, and that if someone didn't have enough magic, the spell would kill them. She also didn't want to reveal her source to Dumbledore since she felt that the letter was her last link to Ben and she didn't want to give that up.

"I can't tell you that right now, Professor. I promise I will tell you later, but right now I can't" She looked into Dumbledore's eyes to show that she was sorry that she couldn't tell him.

Dumbledore knew that she most likely wouldn't reveal her source, so he nodded and said "Of course, you may take as much time as you need. For now, rest and get better. I believe you have exams coming up" He patted her hand lightly and left. Snape gave her a Dreamless Sleep Potion and then followed the Headmaster out the door.

The last weeks of school passed too quickly for Hermione, who was becoming more withdrawn as she came closer to going home for the summer. Harry and Draco chalked it up to her being nervous for the exams and she didn't correct them.

The exams, though, were actually a let down for the three of them; after studying for hours each day, the exams seemed extremely easy. All three of them passed their exams with time to spare. Hermione, of course, earned the highest of all her yearmates, with the second highest going to a boy in Ravenclaw.

The Leaving Feast was almost as rowdy as the Welcoming Feast. Everyone was writing down addresses so they could owl each other over the summer. Hermione told Harry and Draco that her dad wasn't used to her being a witch yet, so it wouldn't be a good idea to owl her.

They both nodded, and said they shouldn't get any owls either. Draco explained that his house, or manor, rather, was a second headquarters for the Death Eaters, so he didn't think any of the Death Eaters would be too understanding if he got an owl from Harry Potter, a known supporter of the light, or Hermione Granger, a Muggleborn student.

He and Harry shared a laugh at that one; even Hermione smiled. Harry said almost the same thing, except that Grimmauld Place was a safe house for Order members, so the owl had to be recognized by the wards to get through.

Hermione chatted with some of the girls she shared a dorm with; Katie Kirby was an interesting character and she was always fun to talk to.

The train ride home was mostly quiet; they had managed to secure a compartment to themselves. Harry and Draco spent most of the ride talking about Quidditch and trading stories of pranks they had pulled.

Hermione added in some remarks from time to time, but for the most part she remained silent. She wasn't looking forward to her summer at all. She actually spent most of the train ride doing the summer homework that each teacher had assigned. Harry tried to distract her by charming the book to float, and Hermione managed to give him a real smile before canceling the spell. "Harry, I have a really busy summer ahead of me, and I want to get this done now so I can enjoy my summer" she said as she resumed her work. _What he doesn't know won't kill him. And it's safer this way. _

Harry smiled and said, "Alright, alright, I'll leave you alone." He and Draco put their heads together to talk about a strategy for next year and what Draco should "pass on" to the Dark Lord.

In her first year, Hermione had come to enjoy almost all of her classes, but especially Potions and Transfiguration. It was mostly due to the teachers. She admired and respected both of them because of their knowledge and passion for their subjects. McGonagall was strict but fair and had an underlying sense of humor. Snape was extremely strict, but Hermione had also noticed that he was incredibly brilliant.

As the train pulled up to the station she sent up a quick prayer that she would live to see her friends and the castle again.

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Alright, here's chapter 3.

Hope you like it (enough to review)


	5. Summer and a Surprise Visit

Here's chapter 4

The summer between Hermione's first and second year.

Maintanence:

_Thought_

"Normal speaking"

_"Spell"_

_Nonverbal Spell_

Thanks to all my reviewers: Sylphides, Sofia7, Harry-Hermione Potter, Lysjknopp, Stashthesocks, Padslet, and Kymie29

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters, although if I did they would certainly be locked in my basement.

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Hermione watched as her new friends left with their families; Harry had Sirius pick him up and Lupin would be back from Hogwarts in a week, Draco walked out of the station with his parents, Katie was busy sticking her tongue out at her little sister, and every other student had found their family.

Hermione sighed and forced back the self-pity that was rising in her. _Crying won't change anything. For now I need to put on a smile and say goodbye to my friends. _

Harry waved at her and she walked over to where he was standing with Sirius. "Hey Hermione, how was your first year?" Sirius asked. He looked at her as if he knew something and she looked over at Harry, who shrugged sheepishly. _I guess he already told Sirius about our escapades this year. O well. _

"I had a great year, thank you Sirius" She smiled back to let him know that what Harry had told him was true. Sirius nodded and winked at her. "So, are your parents coming soon? I don't want to leave you here alone."

Hermione went cold on the inside. She had no intentions of letting him stay with her; she knew her dad would never come to pick her up.

"Actually he's on his way. He's a Muggle, you know, and it's probably just taking him a little longer because he got lost or something. You don't have to stay with me." She said calmly, but inside her heart was racing.

"Are you sure he's almost here?" Sirius asked, loathe to leave her alone, but anxious to get Harry home and out of the crowded station.

Hermione picked up on his nervousness and said reassuringly, "Go on Sirius, my dad will be here soon. But I have a favor to ask" She said, thinking quickly.

"You see, my dad's not too keen on me being a witch, it kinda spooks him, if you know what I mean. Could you possibly take Lara for me?"

"Sure, Hermione. But is your father giving you any trouble?" Sirius asked her as he took Lara's cage from Hermione.

Hermione laughed, although she felt nauseous, and said, "Of course not. It will just take him a little while before he gets used to everything."

She waved goodbye as they left and saw that by now almost all of the other students had left the station as well. _Better for me that they're gone. _She walked outside and caught a bus to her neighborhood, where she walked as slowly as possible to her house.

_I'm glad I got my homework for the year on the train. I doubt he'll let me do anything this summer and I can't do magic outside of school. _She sighed and walked through the door resignedly.

"Welcome home, girl" Her father said mockingly. Hermione winced, _I guess he hasn't forgotten what Ben did last year. _She almost laughed inwardly as she remembered when Ben had stunned her father, but long years in his presence had taught her not to smile or laugh.

He had his belt in his hand and was walking towards her with a predatory look.

Later that night, Hermione was curled into a ball in the basement. _At least he threw my trunk down here too. _It wasn't much of a consolation, since he had thrown it on top of her, but at least she knew he hadn't destroyed anything inside of her trunk.

The next month was the slowest of Hermione's entire life. She spent the entire time in the basement, praying that her father forgot about her. Eventually, she became bored enough that she didn't care about the punishment, and carefully peeled the black fabric away from the window in order to read one of her textbooks.

When she heard footsteps, she smoothed the fabric over again and went back to her corner quickly. She continued to do this for the rest of the month, until the day came that changed her summer.

She heard a knock one morning in July; she wasn't sure what day it was, but had been diligently marking the days on a wall and would try to determine the date when the sun was high enough to get through her window.

Just as she wondered who could be at the door, the door to her basement was opened and her father walked down the stairs quickly. He pulled her up by her hair and said, "There is a man here to see you from that school of yours. If you say anything, I will kill him. Do something to make yourself look better."

Hermione knew that wandless magic didn't register with the Ministry, so she concentrated on a glamour charm and looked at her father, who looked back at her with a mixture of horror and disgust. She was silent as he led her upstairs, keeping a firm grip on her arm because she kept falling.

_I don't think that using wandless magic was the best thing for me to do, but o well. I wonder who's here to see me._

Professor Snape looked around the house, while waiting for the Muggle to come back with Hermione. He noticed that there were no pictures of Hermione anywhere. The house was almost entirely blank of happy memories that usually defined a family. Snape wondered at this, since he had been to Grimmauld Place and the Burrow for the Order, and had seen the pictures that they had hung of the children.

_It reminds me of my house._ Was his first thought, and then he paused, looking stricken. _Please don't let that be true. It would be too cruel. Although I have some suspicions. We'll have to see. _

He turned as he felt the Muggle come back into the room with Hermione behind him. If she was surprised to see him, she didn't show it. _She's too closed off from everyone. No eleven year old has that much control over their emotions. _

"Miss Granger" he said. "How are you?" He looked her over with a critical eye and noticed that she was very pale and thin. She was also squinting a lot, as if she wasn't used to the sun.

"I'm fine, thank you. How are you, Professor" she replied with a straight face.

"You look terribly pale. Have you been well?" He asked her, ignoring her question.

Hermione decided to see if she could let Snape know that something was wrong without saying anything. Before answering, she bit her lip and looked to her father, as if asking him what she should say.

Snape caught the look and wondered what was going on._ Maybe I was right; her father might be abusing her. But I can't do anything until I have proof, or Albus will have a fit. _

The Muggle looked furiously at Hermione, then turned to Snape and sneered, "She's been ill recently, a nasty stomach bug and has been in her room for almost a week."

Snape looked at the man, clearly wanting to hex him, but instead turned to Hermione and said, "Is there somewhere we could talk about Ben in private?"

Hermione stiffened and nodded. She walked out from behind her father and led Snape out to the patio. She knew she would pay dearly for this later, but she needed to hear what Snape had to say about Ben.

"Professor Dumbledore sent me here because of Ben's will" he pulled out a piece of parchment from his robes. "Ben left everything to you, and Professor Dumbledore thought that you might need some help going through everything. There's a specific list of books that he wanted you to have, and since I'm assuming you won't need a second house, you will need to sell it."

Severus handed Hermione the list of items that Ben wanted Hermione to recover from his house and they walked over and entered the house.

Hermione went to the study and began neatly piling the items from the list in the center of the room. She turned to Snape and said, "Professor, I only wish to keep the items that Ben listed for me. I'm assuming that there are things here that would be vital to the Order, so you can take anything useful you see. And since I don't know anything about real estate would you mind helping me sell the house?"

Severus looked at Hermione while she spoke. She hadn't stopped collecting books and other trinkets from the room, but she spoke with a firm voice and Severus marveled at her insight. _She just saved me from having to explain the other reason Albus sent me to help go through the house. _

Of course Dumbledore had realized that there were things in Ben's house that the Order would need and would be devastating if the Death Eaters found, so he had sent Snape to recover them. Severus sighed; his job had just been made a lot easier since Hermione had consented to him taking the items out of the house.

Snape turned to look at Hermione, about to ask her about her father, when she said, "Please, Professor, I know that you suspect something. Please just leave it alone for now. Nothing good will come of it" she turned to look at him. "Could you shrink these so I don't have to carry them all?"

He complied, and Hermione put the books and other items in her jacket pocket. She turned to leave and said, "See you in September, Professor."

He nodded and watched her walk away. _Now I know something is wrong. _He decided to honor her wishes and not confront her about her father yet. He finished gathering all the items he found and apparated back to Hogwarts.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Snape apparate, she crawled out from under the bushes and then back into the house. There were a couple items that she needed to recover that she didn't want Snape to see. Before she left she checked the newspapers that had piled up in Ben's driveway.

She walked to her house, bracing herself for her father's anger. As she had suspected, her father was less than pleased that she had disobeyed him.

When she woke the next morning she couldn't move without aggravating her many welts and bruises, so she contented herself to lay there for the rest of the day. She got up the next morning and marked July 25, yesterday's date from the newspaper, on the wall.

She recovered slowly over the next week and eventually was able to get up and keep track of the days she had marked on the wall. She smiled, now at least, she would know how long she had and when she could leave to go to Diagon Alley.

The next month passed as slowly as the first month had for Hermione. Although she did have the books from Ben's house to read, she could only read during certain times of the day. The rest of the day she spent in darkness, trying to maintain the physical training she had begun at Hogwarts.

On August 29, Hermione had decided that she couldn't spend another minute in the house and began to gather her books and her courage. She walked up to the door and timidly knocked on it, feeling stupid despite the circumstances.

Her father opened the door and she blinked as the light hit her eyes. "What do you want?" he asked roughly.

"School starts in three days and I need to go to buy my books. I need to leave toady to get them" she swallowed and wondered what he would do.

He looked down at her and said "Fine, get out of my sight" she paused, looking at him uncertainly, "NOW!" he yelled.

She ran down the stairs and grabbed her trunk, then pulled it up the stairs and walked out of the house without looking back.

When she had walked to the point where she couldn't see her house anymore, she pulled out her wand and stuck it out in front of her, as she had seen Ben do.

The Knight Bus pulled up as it had before, and Hermione pulled some money out of her trunk and paid Stan Shunpike.

She counted the money she had in her trunk; Hogwarts had a fund for Muggle born students who didn't have any money. _Hopefully Ben's house will sell soon so I don't have to take charity anymore. _

She got off at the Leaky Cauldron and walked up to Tom, asking him if she could show her how to get into Diagon Alley, since she didn't remember how.

Tom gave a small smile and taught her the correct combination that would open to gateway to Diagon Alley. As her turned to go she called after him, "Is there a cheap room I could rent for the next two days?" He turned around and said, "You're a Hogwarts student, right?" she nodded. "There's no need to pay, I have a room that will do quite nicely for you." "Thank you Tom" she said, and then walked into Diagon Alley.

She decided to wander around for today, and get a good meal. She was too pale for her taste, so she stayed outside for the rest of the day, reading and enjoying the sunlight.

She returned to the Leaky Cauldron and Tom showed her to her room, insisting that she didn't need to pay.

The next day she resolved to get her school supplies, starting with Flourish and Blotts, since that was where she needed most of her items. On her way out she saw Draco and waved to him. He smiled and pointed to a deserted aisle. She nodded and walked in that direction. He met her there and gave her a hug, then quickly stepped back. "How was your summer?" he asked. "You look really pale."

Hermione smiled, it was good to see Draco again. She was about to answer when a shadow loomed over them. She turned around to see a wizard that looked almost exactly like Draco staring down at her.

"Draco, it's not good to wander off. But I see that it was to meet a friend. This must be Miss Granger. How do you do?" he addressed her with his question.

She smiled at his charm and said, "Hermione please, sir. And I am well."

"Hermione" he said with a smile. "Please excuse us, we have a lot to accomplish today."

"Of course, sir. I'll see you in two days, Draco. It was nice to meet you Mr. Malfoy."

Lucius watched as Hermione walked up to the counter to pay for her schoolbooks. _So that is the child of the prophecy. I will need to keep an eye on her. _

She stopped at the Apothecary next for her Potions ingredients, and then went to Madame Malkin's to see if she could get another set of robes. She also went to Eeylops Owl Emporium to get owl treats for Lara. Finally, she went to Honeydukes to get something for Harry and Sirius as a thank you for taking Lara for the summer. She went back to the Leaky Cauldron with her schoolbooks and other things, and spent the rest of the night reading.

She spent her last day of summer outside, trying to undo the damage that two months of being beaten and kept in the basement had done. When she returned to her room, she packed everything in her trunk and fell asleep instantly.

Hermione woke the next day at nine o'clock. _Perfect, I have plenty of time to eat and get to the train station_._ The Knight Bus leaves from the Leaky Cauldron at ten, so I need to get downstairs and eat. _

At ten o'clock she bid Tom farewell and thanked him, then boarded the Knight Bus with several other students. She looked at the other students, and, not recognizing any of them, took a seat in the back, alone.

The Knight Bus pulled up to the train station at ten thirty and Hermione and the other students got off with their trunks. They walked to Platform 9 ¾ and walked through the barrier.

She loaded her trunk into a compartment and locked the door with a charm, in order to save the compartment for when her friends came. Then she walked off the train to wait for Harry and Draco.

She saw Katie Kirby first and talked with her until Draco showed up. She walked over and greeted Draco and his father. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry and Sirius walk through the barrier. She told Draco which compartment she saved and how to undo the charm, and then walked over to greet Harry. She knew that until they were at school, it wouldn't be a good idea for the three of them to be seen together.

"Hey Harry, Sirius. Where's Professor Lupin?" Hermione greeted them.

"He went back to Hogwarts last week to get his classes ready" Harry answered. "So, how's your summer been?"

"O, it's been ok. I'm looking forward to going back to Hogwarts, though" Hermione said, determined to steer her friend away from the topic.

Sirius noticed her evasiveness, but decided not to say anything. "Well, come on you two, the train's going to leave in a couple of minutes" Sirius picked up Lara's cage and walked over to the train.

"O, I almost forgot!" Hermione said, and pulled two bars of Honeydukes Chocolate out of her jacket. "Sorry that it isn't much, but it's all I could think of" she said as she handed one bar to Harry and the other to Sirius. "What's this for?" Harry eyed the chocolate suspiciously.

Hermione laughed at his expression, "It's for watching Lara for the summer. It meant a lot to me, so thanks."

"We'll be here any time you need help Hermione. You can always come to us" Sirius told her.

Hermione sensed the deeper meaning behind his words and just nodded. She said her goodbye to Sirius and left them alone so they could say goodbye. Harry came on the train a minute later and followed Hermione to the compartment that Draco was in.

The train pulled out and Hermione looked out the window, ecstatic to be back. _To be home. This is where I really belong. _

She listened as Harry and Draco talked about Quidditch and what positions they would try out for this year. Harry wanted to be Seeker, but Draco thought it was stupid since he needed to wear glasses to see.

"You know, Harry, Madame Pomfrey could probably fix your eyesight so you don't need to wear glasses" Hermione informed him from behind her book.

"That's a great idea Hermione. I'll ask her about it after the Feast. Are you going to try out for the Quidditch team?" Harry asked her.

Hermione chuckled and said, "Most likely not, but I'll give it a try. Can't hurt anything."

Draco nodded to her and said, "If Harry's going to be Seeker then I guess I'll have to be a Chaser. Care to join me, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded, and they talked about Quidditch and their new classes until the train pulled in at Hogwarts.

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Ok, I know that was short compared to the other ones, but it's getting there. The summer chapters will be shorter than the chapters during the school year.

Next is the first half of Hermione and co's second year and I have something big planned. grins evilly

Always,  
Sinkme


	6. Answers and Attacks

Chapter 5

The first part of Hermione's second year.

Maintanence:

_Thought_

"Normal speaking"

_"Spell"_

_Nonverbal Spell_

_"Parseltounge"_

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(During the summer)

"My Lord, here is the item you requested" the Death Eater kneeled before the pale figure and handed him a book.

"Excellent. You've done well, Dolohov. With this book, I will be able to take over Hogwarts. Now, leave me" after he spoke the room cleared immediately.

"_Open_," he hissed, and a silvery cloud emerged from the book, taking the form of a teenaged boy. The boy looked up at his red eyed self and asked, "What must be done?"

"I need you to get onto the Hogwarts Express and into the school without being noticed. From there, go to the Chamber and start the process. Begin with muggleborns and then move on to the blood traitors. There are two things, however" Voldemort said with care, looking his younger self over critically.

"What is that?" Tom asked.

"The boy called Harry Potter must not be harmed. I have infused part of my soul with his, so that any damage to him will only hurt us-"

"Why would you do that?" the younger boy asked.

"There are some things that you won't understand, but since it is vital, I will explain it. The boy's parents were the poster Aurors for the Order. Killing them had a purpose: to weaken the Order and send a message. Their child, though no threat to me, offered an opportunity. At that time, the procedure for creating a Horcrux was new to me and I wanted to test it. By using the boy as the container, I sent a different message to the Order- that no one is beyond my reach. And the bit of my soul in him will slowly corrupt him, causing him to eventually break from the precious Order. The fools have no idea what I've done. Until I make more Horcruxes, it is vital that the boy stay alive, since a portion of my soul would die with him if he were to be killed. "

Tom looked at his older self, impressed with the plan. "So when will we strike? And what's the second thing you needed to tell me?"

"There is a child that is marked with a phoenix on their arm in the school. That child could prove to be my downfall. If the child should make an appearance, kill him. And we will strike when the moment is right. I will alert you as to when that is. We need time to prepare. After all, it isn't everyday that I invade Hogwarts" the snake man gave a terrible smile before instructing his younger self that the train would leave tomorrow morning, and giving him a wand from a Death Eater that had been killed.

Tom left the room, thinking everything through, and planning how he would get into Hogwarts without being seen.

The next morning, he walked into the train station and got onto the train, securing a compartment in the back for himself, before locking it shut and drawing the blinds shut. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated on draining the life out of the rat he had in his pocket.

He knew it wouldn't last him that long, but there were plenty of beasts he could drain once he got to Hogwarts. The draining being complete, he incinerated the rat and made himself comfortable for the long ride.

Upon his arrival at Hogwarts, Tom made sure to stay with the crowd; he would be less noticeable that way. He hid his face and his disgust with the other students and broke away from them once they were in the castle. He ran to the bathroom and opened the Chamber quickly, to avoid anyone catching him, then proceeded to the heart of the Chamber, calling to the basilisk.

_I wonder who will be the first to die, _Tom thought with a mad look in his eyes as the basilisk slid towards him.

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Hermione walked to the Great Hall with Harry and Draco next to her. They took their usual place at the end of the table and watched as everyone else filed in. Katie Kirby gave Hermione a smile and a wave as she walked by and Hermione gave her a small smile in return. _It's impossible to not like that girl _Hermione thought as Katie walked to sit with some other Slytherin girls.

Harry meanwhile, was still talking to Draco about Quidditch and Hermione decided to join in this time.

"If you two can teach me to fly then I will try out for whatever position Draco was telling me about earlier" Hermione said, laughing at the looks that the boys gave her.

"We will definitely teach you, Hermione. But you have to try out then" Harry told her enthusiastically. "And you're not allowed to sabotage your try out. You have to really try" he told her when he caught the look in her eyes.

Draco smirked, "That is the point of calling them _try-_outs. Idiot" but there was no venom behind the insult and Harry merely laughed. The three of them turned towards the Head Table as Dumbledore called them to attention.

"Welcome back to our old students, and new students, welcome to Hogwarts. Just a couple of announcements before the feast: As some of you have heard, Professor Quirrell will not be returning this year, he decided to travel the world" Hermione snorted, as did Draco and Harry, since she had told them what had happened. Dumbledore continued, though. "As such, Professor Lockhart will be taking over the second, fourth, and seventh years" those in the mentioned grades all groaned; Lupin was a popular teacher and everyone knew that Lockhart was a prat.

Dumbledore continued as if he hadn't heard the groans, "Professor Castus will be joining us in light of Hagrid's departure and will also take up the position as the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds. I just want to remind everyone to remain in the castle unless you are with a staff member. Due to the dangerous times, I will insist that any student caught out after curfew will be punished severely."

While the other houses all turned to look at the Slytherin table when the 'dangerous times' were mentioned, Draco leaned over to Hermione and Harry and said, "Well, he only said that students who were caught would be punished." Harry flashed a smile, as did Hermione, and then they turned the feast that popped up in front of them.

While they were eating, Hermione asked Harry and Draco about Lockhart. "Completely loony" Harry was telling her in between bites of chicken. "Sirius says he's a complete fraud. And he's so full of himself. Bit nauseating, really."

Draco nodded and said, "He's a disgrace. Father says that he's been taking credit for things that other wizards and witches have done and claims them for his own. I stopped reading the summer assignment after three pages."

Hermione looked at him, "I wanted to stop reading but I had nothing else to do so I finished it. There were a lot holes in his stories. I don't like him."

They continued their conversation until they reached the common room and then sat on the edge of the stairs, waiting for Snape to give them his cheery welcome back speech.

Draco smiled at that thought, _Snape cheery. Ha. He's been my godfather since I was born and I don't think I've ever seen him be cheery once. Although he is entitled to be sour, given the life he chose._

Draco turned to listen to his godfather's soft voice, "…Older students, look after the younger ones. With the recent events of the summer the other Houses will look for revenge and you will be their targets. Do not take any action against them. Do not retaliate. You were sorted into this House because of your sense of self preservation and wit, use them. Gryffindors act rashly, we are the clever ones," he looked around to each face and repeated what he said. "We are the clever ones. Again, if you have any problems come to my classroom to find me."

His robes swept behind him as he walked through the portrait hole. After a moment, Hermione dashed through the crowd and followed him.

"Professor" she called, and slowed to a walk when she saw him stop and turn around. "I wanted to thank you again for helping me this summer. I was wondering if anyone bought the house yet."

"It was no trouble, Miss Granger. There have been several bids, but I left it to Gringott's to take care of the details. They will transfer the gold to your vault."

"My vault?" Hermione asked.

He glanced at her calmly, "Yes, Ben's vault and the gold that was in it was given to you in his will. By the look on your face I will assume that you didn't know that" she shook her head no. "I will also assume that you don't know the vault number or have the key" again she shook her head no. "I will take care of that then. Good night Miss Granger" he said as he continued walking towards his classroom.

"Good night, sir. And thank you again" Hermione said, although she wasn't sure he heard her. She climbed back through the portrait hole and saw that Harry and Draco had waited for her. They walked over to her and Harry gave Draco a significant look.

"Alright, alright, don't give me that look" Draco said. "Hermione, Harry and I know that you're hiding something from us-" Harry cleared his throat. "Alright, several somethings. We want you to know that we won't abandon you and we won't question you. We're here whenever you want to tell us."

He walked over and gave her a quick hug, then turned and walked up the stairs to his dorm. Harry did the same, but before he went up the stairs, he turned to her and said, "You're not alone, Hermione. Draco and I are here, and Sirius and Lupin are here for you as well. The whole Order, in fact, is behind you. So please don't feel like you're alone."

Hermione stayed there for a moment, wondering what they guessed about her, then walked the stairs to her own dorm. _It's going to be a long year._

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Hermione walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. _I don't know why I bother; I won't be able to eat a full meal for a couple of weeks. _

She sat in between Harry and Draco, ignoring the looks they were giving her after she only nibbled on a piece of toast. "So, are we going to start training tonight?" She asked to change the topic.

Draco raised an eyebrow at her to let her know that he wasn't fooled, but said, "Yea, I think that would be a good idea. Let's check our schedules and see if we have any free periods."

They all had the same schedule: on one day they had Transfiguration, Herbology, a free period, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the other day they had Charms, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and History of Magic.

Today they had "A" day, as the trio dubbed it, so they walked to McGonagall's classroom after breakfast.

"We will continue to work on your ability to transfigure one inanimate object with another. Hopefully by the end of the year we will start with changing animate objects with inanimate ones. I want you all to try transfiguring the match you have in front of you with a needle. This will help to gauge your concentration. Begin."

The rest of the class was spent trying to change the match into a needle. Hermione mastered the lesson on her third time, and moved on to changing it back.

After Transfiguration the three of them ran outside to Herbology. "What a waste of time" Harry complained. "Harry," Hermione reproached. "Without Herbology, there wouldn't be that many ingredients for potions. Speaking of which, did you see Madam Pomfrey about your eyes?"

"Yes I did, O wise one" Harry said. "She agreed to see what she could do this weekend. I need to talk to Lupin first since he's my guardian."

They had reached the green house and walked in as Professor Sprout was handing out earmuffs. The boys looked to Hermione for an explanation as they took their earmuffs. "We're probably doing something with Mandrakes today," was all she said as they walked to their place in the greenhouse.

"Miss Granger is correct; we will be starting Mandrakes today. Now, can anyone tell me what a Mandrake is and what it is used for?"

A Gryffindor raised his hand, "Yes, Mr. Longbottom?"

"Mandrakes are used to return people who have been Transfigured or cursed to their original state. It has powerful restorative properties and their cry is fatal to humans" he said.

"Excellent, Mr. Longbottom. Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, everyone make sure your earmuffs are on securely and get a good grip on your Mandrake. We will be repotting them today."

They worked quietly, there was no chance to do anything except concentrate on the Mandrake. They walked back up to the castle for lunch, everyone was heading to their dorms to change until they noticed that Hermione was dirt free.

"Hermione, how'd you get clean?" Harry asked, looking down at his hands and robe, which were more dirt than fabric.

"A cleaning charm, duh" Hermione said. Draco nodded, embarrassed that he had forgotten, and performed the charm on himself and Harry. Harry looked embarrassed as well, and the three of them walked to lunch.

Hermione made sure to eat a little bit more than she had at breakfast to appease Harry and Draco. They watched as their classmates filed in, noticeably cleaner. Hermione did a double take when she saw two red heads join the red headed twins at the Gryffindor table.

"Harry, who's the little red head?" Harry looked over to the Gryffindor table.

"That's Ginny, the youngest Weasley. She's the only girl to have been born in the Weasley family a while. And the twins are Fred and George." Harry said after he had swallowed.

Hermione nodded, memorizing the names and placing them with the faces. _Harry mentioned that they're in the Order, so it would be a good idea to be familiar with them._

After lunch they had a free period, so they went to the Room of Requirement to train. It was harder for Hermione, since she hadn't been able to do most of the exercises over the summer, and needless to say she wasn't able to do magic like Harry and Draco were over the holiday.

Hermione had brought the books Ben left her to the Room and stored them there so they would be safe and accessible when they were practicing.

They left the Room with half an hour before their next class, so they could shower and change. Hermione left the boys and climbed the stairs to her dorm, agreeing to meet them in Defense.

As soon as they entered the classroom, their loathing of Lockhart increased. Pictures of his smiling face were plastered all over the room and Hermione's wand hand twitched, wanting to hex the pictures off the wall. The man himself was dressed in brightly colored robes, complete with a random assortment of meaningless but important looking magical items.

"Hello, hello. Come in and find your seats please," Hermione blinked as their teacher smiled. _He has to be using a charm. There's no way that teeth can shine like that naturally. I'm going to be blind by the end of the year._

Harry hid a smirk behind a cough as they went to find seats near the back. It seemed that the other students had the same idea, since all of the tables in the front of the room were empty.

"Now, for those of you who don't know me, although you should, I am Gilderoy Lockhart. I won't go into detail about my accomplishments, by now you should have read my autobiography, Magical Me-" he summoned a copy over to him, but missed it and had to summon another one. To make up for that he took out a ridiculous looking peacock feather, signed the book, and tossed it to Katie Kirby, who handed it to the girl next to her with a look of deep loathing.

Harry did laugh at that one, as did several other boys. "Well, anyway," Lockhart continued as if nothing had happened, "I've decided to start the class with a little quiz about your summer reading to see what you remember and understand." Everyone groaned as they passed the quiz back.

Hermione looked at the quiz and raised her hand immediately.

"Yes, Miss…" Lockhart said.

"Hermione Granger, sir. May I ask what the point of this quiz is?" Harry stared at her like she had grown two heads. Besides the fact that Lockhart had already told them why they were having a quiz, he had never heard Hermione talk back to, let alone question, a teacher before. He was about to say something to her but stopped when Draco nudged him. "Look at the questions" he muttered, then turned his eyes back to Hermione, amusement evident in them.

Harry looked down at the quiz:

_What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?_

_What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?_

_What is this rubbish. There's three pages of questions about this moron._ Harry flipped through the quiz, looking for anything related to Defense Against the Dark Arts, but there was nothing.

Hermione was still waiting patiently for an answer.

"Miss Granger, I believe I already told you that the quiz was to test what you understood."

"Yes sir, you did say that. I should have been more specific. I was wondering why there weren't any questions relating to the subject. They're all about you" By this time the whole class was staring at her. The Gryffindors were looking at her with admiration, while the Slytherins were surprised that Hermione was questioning a teacher.

"Well, um, you see…" Lockhart stumbled through an answer until he decided that it would be better to ignore it and move on.

"Now, I've decided to set up a little test to see how you react when confronted with danger" he said, while pulling the cover off of a cage filled with pixies.

Several of the Gryffindors scoffed at the 'danger' a pixie presented, but Hermione drew her wand. _Don't underestimate them, they tricky little buggers. _

"Pixies" a Gryffindor with more freckles than skin on his face laughed, "Pixies aren't dangerous. At most, their voices are shrill, but they can't be dangerous."

"Don't be so sure Mr. Finnigan. And now, I leave you to them" with a dramatic flourish, he opened the cage.

The pixies took off in several directions, throwing books and generally making a mess. Hermione watched everything develop, and after a minute, decided that it was time to end it.

"_Immobulus" _she cried, pointing her wand in the air. At once, all of the pixies were frozen where they were, unable to move.

"O," Lockhart said, disappointed that they had overcome the pixies so quickly. "I mean, well done Miss Granger. Ten points to Slytherin. Well, that was all I had planned today. No homework tonight."

They all raced out of the room and headed to the common room. Hermione, however, continued down to the dungeons.

"Hermione, where are you going?" Harry called after her.

"I need to ask Professor Snape something. I'll meet you back in the common room."

Draco shrugged and pulled Harry back with him as Hermione rounded the corner. She walked to the door and paused, listening for any sounds that indicated that he had a class now. Hearing nothing, she knocked on the door.

"Enter," sounded from within, and Hermione opened the door and walked in.

"Miss Granger, what can I help you with?"

"Well, sir, I wanted to ask you if it would be possible to opt out of a class" Hermione said.

Snape hid a smirk, "Let me guess, you would like to drop Defense Against the Dark Arts."

She looked up at him in surprise. "Yes, sir. How did you know?" _I wonder if he can read minds. Wait, isn't that what he did last year, when Hagrid was killed? I need to look into ways to keep my mind closed. _

"Because, Miss Granger, that is what I would be doing if I were in your place."

Hermione smiled, since she could picture her teacher doing just that.

"May I ask why you've decided this after only one class with him?"

"Well, sir, the first thing he did was give us a quiz about our summer reading to test our comprehension, sir. The questions, though, were all about him."

Snape did smile at that, "Care to give me an example, Miss Granger" he asked, purely for his own amusement as he hated Lockhart with as much intensity as some students hated him.

Hermione looked at him, he was clearly enjoying this. "Of course, sir. The first question was 'what is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?' Sir, is there some other course I could take. He's incompetent in every sense of the word. Couldn't we start a dueling club or something so I actually learn something?"

Hermione was rambling at this point, but Snape thought that a dueling club would be a good idea and told her so.

"I will talk to the Headmaster about the possibility of a dueling club, but I would like for you to continue with the class for now. I think that you could learn something if you took the time to ask him a lot of questions" Snape said. Hermione flashed him a grin to let him know that she go his meaning and walked towards the door when Snape called her back.

"Here is the key to your vault. The number is inscribed on the side" as he handed it to her, his hand grazed hers and his Dark Mark flared into life, summoning him to the Dark Lord.

_Shit, I forgot that any direct contact with the child of the prophecy will alert the Dark Lord. That's how they discovered Ben was a spy. Damnit, how could I have forgotten? Now I need to go and try to explain this without giving her away._

Hermione was looking at Snape, concerned. _What just happened?_ "Sir, are you alright?"

"Yes, Miss Granger. I have a favor to ask you. Would you go to Professor McGonagall and tell her that I have to visit my friend for a moment?"

Hermione looked confused but nodded, "Of course, sir" She turned to go, thinking about her enigmatic professor. _He hasn't questioned me about my father, so I won't ask him about this._

Hermione walked to McGonagall's room and knocked on the door. By now classes had ended, so Hermione walked into the classroom and looked for her professor.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" McGonagall walked over from the animal cages that the older students were using to transfigure.

"Professor Snape asked me to tell you that he went to visit his friend for a bit," Hermione said while watching her teacher's face for any reaction.

McGonagall's face went pale for a moment before she hid her reaction.

_So this is bad, just like I thought._ Hermione carefully watched the woman for anything else that would give Hermione an idea where Snape went, but she didn't betray anything else.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. You may go to dinner now" McGonagall gave her a smile but it didn't reach her eyes. She watched as the girl walked out and then thought, _Severus, be careful. _

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as she was out of the door, Snape used a secret passage to get outside, where he went to the edge of the school and apparated away.

"Severus, where is the child?" if it were anyone else, Snape would say they were eager, even excited, but the Dark Lord didn't get excited.

"My Lord, at the time I was walking through the halls, I wasn't able to determine who exactly it was, but I was able to tell that they were in their first or second year" Snape said as he reinforced his Occlumency shields, projecting the false memory he had just described to the Dark Lord.

Voldemort was less than pleased that Snape didn't know who the child was, but as he examined his memories, he couldn't even tell who bumped Snape, thus triggering the Mark.

As Voldemort withdrew from Snape's mind, the spy shuddered from the intensity of the probe. "Very well, Severus. But I expect you to discover the identity of this child. I have a plan that will bring the Order to its knees, but I will need the child eventually."

Severus was alarmed to hear of a plan, since he hadn't been told about any plan to strike the Order, but his face remained impassive.

"I will find the child, My Lord" with that he apparated back and headed to Dumbledore's office. _We need to tell Hermione soon. And I need to be more careful around her._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione spent most of her free time in the library, researching Occlumency and Legilimency and reading more about Voldemort and his rise to power. There was nothing that mentioned the prophecy in greater detail than to record the fact that one was made, and Hermione was getting frustrated.

_If there isn't anything here about it, then I will need to ask someone about it soon._ Hermione thought furiously. _I could probably ask Snape or Lupin about it, but they might not tell me. I need more information on the Order and the Death Eaters. That means I need to talk to Harry and Draco._

Hermione continued to do well in all of her classes, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts. During that class Hermione would switch between questioning Lockhart on everything he did or said to reading textbooks from other classes. Lockhart became so scared of the young witch that he never reprimanded her for not paying attention and went so far as to ignore her when she was reading.

One memorable class in November even made Lockhart cancel the lesson after ten minutes.

"How many of you have read my book, Wandering with Werewolves?" he paused to see that three hands were raised, and audibly gulped when he noticed that one of them was Hermione.

"Professor, how did you manage to force the werewolf back to his human form during the full moon?" Hermione asked pleasantly, seemingly unaware of how uncomfortable he was. Her classmates, both Slytherin and Gryffindor, began to laugh; they had begun to look forward to the part of class where Hermione would cut Lockhart down.

"Well, Miss Granger, it's, well, it's a professional secret" Lockhart stumbled.

_Man is that excuse getting old_ Hermione thought, "But sir, there are probably dozens of people who are werewolves that would benefit from your work. Why don't you share your secret?"

Harry looked up at that and Hermione noticed it out of the corner of her eye. _Why is he suddenly interested? It couldn't be! Is that why he misses classes? _Hermione stored the thought for later and turned back to Lockhart.

Lockhart had begun to sweat by now, "I-I have already begun to discuss that option with the Ministry, Miss Granger. Now, if you would all open your books, we will begin."

"Professor, that's wonderful. How soon do you think the Ministry will approve of your technique? After all, this would be helping so many people. You might even get an Order of Merlin. Please, would you tell us what you did? It would be so educational." Hermione continued to ramble on in a fake enthusiastic voice until Lockhart broke in.

"Class dismissed, everyone," they all laughed as he bolted out of the room to avoid being peppered by any more questions. The class clapped for Hermione, who walked out of the room with her cheeks burning.

That night they decided to have mock duels for their training session. Harry squared off against Hermione first. They traded Disarming and Stunning spells, but Hermione seemed distant and unfocused. Harry managed to hit her with a _Petrificus Totalus_, and Hermione fell to the floor.

Draco walked over and said, "_Finite Incantantem" _and helped Hermione up. As she stood up, however, Draco noticed that she had several bruises on her arms and face that weren't there before.

Both boys looked at Hermione, horror on their faces as they saw the extent of the colorful bruises. "What, why are you looking at me like that?" Hermione asked.

She looked down and saw the bruises on her arm, _crap! I must have been too tired to keep my glamour on. I need to explain this to them. They deserve the truth. _

"Hermione, you need to tell us what's going on, but first we're taking you to the Hospital Wing" Draco said as he led her out of the room.

Hermione kept her head down and drew her robes closer over her arms and neck. She didn't want anyone to see her, especially any teachers that were roaming the halls.

Thankfully, they didn't encounter any teachers, but Madam Pomfrey clucked over Hermione the entire time. Draco and Harry were waiting in the hallway, and Hermione was grateful to the matron for making them leave. Hermione didn't open her mouth the entire time and wouldn't tell Madam Pomfrey where she got the bruises or what had happened.

"Alright, dear. You're done. There will be some scars from the cuts since they went unattended so long, but other than that you will be fine" she said sadly, looking at Hermione.

_I remember when Severus used to come back from the holiday break looking like this. I only wish she would tell someone. We can arrange to have her stay with another family, but I can't inform the headmaster until she tells me that she's being abused. _

Hermione thanked the Medi-witch and walked out to the hall to find Harry and Draco standing there. "I will tell you everything, but not here. Let's go back to the Room."

They nodded and walked silently to the Room of Requirement, checking each hall to make sure no one saw them. They entered the room to see several oversized armchairs and a small array of snack foods waiting for them. They each took a chair and the boys looked at Hermione.

"Alright, this will be easier if neither of you interrupt me" Harry and Draco both nodded and she took a deep breath before beginning, "Both of my parents are Muggles. My mum was an elementary school teacher and my dad was a construction worker. I had a normal childhood until I was six. That summer, my mum was hit by a drunk driver and she died at the hospital. Looking back now, the stress of losing my mum was what must have caused me to accidentally use magic. Anyway, it spooked my dad and he began to blame me for mum's death. He-he began to drink and was fired from his job soon after. We mostly lived off of the life insurance money from my mom" Hermione paused and calmed herself down before continuing, "He began to hit me when I was seven. After a little while, he made me live in the basement and I rarely left it. That's why I was so pale and weak for the first couple of days of school" Hermione looked down, not wanting to see their faces.

"Hermione, we're not going to abandon you" Draco said as he grasped her hand. "We're your friends."

"Yea" Harry said. "You know what, you need to tell Dumbledore about this. I bet you can come stay with one of us for the holidays!"

Hermione looked up at Harry, who was walking animatedly around the room. "No, Harry. I'm not telling anyone else. This is my problem and I will deal with it. I don't want anyone's pity."

Draco just sighed, "Hermione, it's alright to ask for help. But for now, Harry and I will keep our mouths shut" seeing Harry open his mouth to object, Draco glared at him, "won't we, Harry?"

Harry nodded, knowing that if it got worse they would tell someone, but for now, Hermione needed their support.

"Thanks, guys" Hermione said before switching into researcher mode. "Ok, I have some questions for both of you, and since we're all here, I might as well ask them" she turned to the blond boy first. "Draco, I need to understand more about the Death Eaters."

"I don't know very much since I'm kept out of the meetings, but I have managed to hear some stuff. First off, you know that all Death Eaters are branded with the Dark Mark, right?"

Hermione shook her head. "I know what the Dark Mark is, but I didn't know that they were branded with it. Where is it?"

"It's on their left forearm and it serves to connect them to You-Know-Who at all times. He can summon them to him through it and he knows where they are at all times. That's why no one who has turned traitor has survived for more than two days."

"Ok, so YKW keeps tabs on his Death Eaters, what else? You know what, this is ridiculous. Let's just call him Tom, ok. It's easier and that way, no one will know who we're talking about."

Draco snorted but continued, "Tom has two circles of Death Eaters: the Outer and the Inner. Only his most trusted followers are in his Inner circle. They are branded with a special mark that distinguishes themselves from the others and allows them to apparate directly to Tom when he calls them. I don't know everyone who's in it, but I know that my father and Severus are both in it, as well as my aunt."

"She's a nutter," Harry said to Draco. "Who?" Hermione asked, wanting to stay in the conversation.

"My aunt Bellatrix. She's one of the craziest and most fanatical of all of Tom's followers."

Hermione nodded, storing away everything Draco told her before she turned to Harry. "Ok Harry, same deal. What's going on in the Order?"

"Well, to start, Dumbledore is the leader and McGonagall and Snape are his second-in-command. Snape is the spy, but he has his own spy network that no one knows about. He has contacts all over the country to help him. He's also in charge of the safe houses for the Order. But Tom doesn't know that. Since he gained control over Azkaban, the wizarding prison, we've had to keep any prisoners we captured in safe houses so Tom can't find them. The Order also has an Outer and Inner circle, but the qualifications are different. The Outer circle is mostly filled with people who are against Tom, but don't want to come out and say it because they're scared for their families. They help keep tabs on Death Eater activity where they work and pass the information along. They are all trained and are proficient at fighting, and most will fight if they are called. The Inner circle is composed of people who are taking an active role against Tom. There are a lot of Aurors, dark wizard catchers, who are in the Order and they help to train new recruits and such. There are separate meetings for Outer and Inner members to keep anyone from leaking information."

Hermione nodded then said, "Harry, I need to ask you something, but it's quite personal. You don't have to answer" seeing Harry nod his head, Hermione continued, "What happened to your parents?"

Harry closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them, they were full of determination.

"My parents were personally murdered by Tom," he said with a slight quiver in his voice. "They had been doing a lot for the Order, since they were Aurors, and Tom got decided to send the Order a message. He came to the house and killed them both. No one knows why he spared me, but after that night I've had the Dark Mark on my back." He slipped his arm out of his sleeve to show her the mark engraved on his back.

"O, Harry, I'm sorry" Hermione said as she looked at the angry black skull on his back. "Does the Order know anything about it?"

"No, all they know is that it isn't the same Dark Mark that the Death Eaters have. No one knows what it is" Harry said as he pulled his shirt back on and sat down.

_This is good. I'm starting to understand things regarding the war. Hopefully I will learn more about the prophecy soon _Hermione thought as the warning bell for curfew rang. As they walked back to the common room, Harry suddenly stopped and looked around in bewilderment.

"Do you guys hear that?" he asked as he walked over to the walls and looked around nervously.

"Hear what, Harry?" Draco asked, wondering why his friend was suddenly going crazy.

"I can hear a voice in the walls. It's saying _kill mudbloods_" Harry said quietly. Draco took Harry arm and led him around the corner, closer to the Great Hall and then stopped with a gasp.

Hermione hurried to catch up and saw a student lying in the middle of the hall. She was on her back and her eyes were glassy. Her face was frozen in shock and fear.

"Merlin," Draco said as he walked over to the girl. "What happened?" he asked, although he knew that none of them had an answer.

Harry had already run to get a teacher, and soon Professor Flitwick was standing next to the body of the student, looking down at her and muttering a spell. A sliver raven came out of his wand and Flitwick told it to summon the Headmaster and the other teachers.

He turned to the three Slytherins, "I know you had nothing to do with this, so I would suggest that you return to your common room now and say nothing to your classmates."

They nodded, still overcome with shock, and walked down the stairs that led to the common room. They walked to their dorm without turning around to bid each other good night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They walked down to breakfast the next morning hesitantly, waiting to see how everyone would react. News of the attack had spread, but no one knew yet whether the girl was dead or alive.

"Students, settle down, please" almost immediately the entire student body was silent, waiting to hear what Dumbledore would say. "Last night, a student was attacked, and it is with the utmost remorse that I must inform you that Miss Halifax died last night."

As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a deafening uproar. The Gryffindor table was the loudest, since Maybelle Halifax was a fifth year Gryffindor. Hermione looked up at Dumbledore, who suddenly appeared older and frailer than she had ever seen him. She looked over at Harry, wondering if the voice he heard was connected to the student's death.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Dumbledore, what are we going to do? We have a student dead and we don't know how she died" McGonagall said during the teacher's conference.

"I think I might understand what's going on" Snape said slowly from the shadows of the room. Everyone turned to look to him as he unraveled the puzzle.

He looked over to Dumbledore, "When I was summoned to the Dark Lord the other day he mentioned a plan to strike the Order. When I told you about it, neither of us knew what it could be. But I think this might be it. He has, somehow, opened the Chamber again and is attacking students."

His answer caused the teachers to all start talking at once. The older ones were trying to tell the newer teachers what the Chamber was while Dumbledore tried to get everyone to be quiet.

"That is a possibility, Severus. But we can't let it be the only option. Madam Pomfrey, your diagnostic spell didn't show a cause of death?"

"No, Headmaster, it didn't. Which, I'm sorry to say, has only happened in one other case" the veteran teachers knew where this was going, "the only other time I couldn't identify a cause of death was when Myrtle Jarling was killed. That would mean-"

"That the Chamber is open," Snape cut in. "Dumbledore, we need get certain protection-," he looked at Fawkes, "for the students."

Several teachers looked at him like he was crazy, but the teachers who were in the Order, namely McGonagall, Lupin, and Flitwick, nodded in understanding.

"It certainly won't hurt anything. It will assure the parents that we are doing something and it will let You-Know-Who know that we're not going to roll over for him" Flitwick spoke, and several other teachers nodded at that explanation.

Dumbledore looked at the other teachers and nodded, "If you will excuse me, I have several owls to send. Please patrol the corridors for the night. We will have another meeting tomorrow to discuss the patrol schedule and the extra help."

The teachers walked to their classes, which were full of panicked students and were almost impossible to control. Hermione noticed that Flitwick wasn't even trying to get their class to quiet down; _I guess he thinks that if he tries to get us to quiet down we'll start asking him questions that he won't want to answer. But that's fine with me; I have something to check._

Hermione pulled out a book and began reading about werewolves while Harry and Draco talked to Ronald Weasley about Quidditch.

They walked down to Potions after Charms but Hermione fell behind the three boys when she heard Professor McGonagall talking to Professor Sprout.

"-at's what I said. Severus thinks that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again. Merlin, I hope that he's wrong, it could be the end of Hogwarts it he's right." McGonagall was saying in a whisper to Sprout.

Hermione turned around and walked back to the Potions classroom, deciding she couldn't stay to listen any longer.

She walked into the room with a minute to spare and set up her cauldron next to Draco. "I'll tell you later. I have to check something with Professor Binns." If Draco was surprised he didn't show it, but he secretly wondered what she needed to check.

"We will be working on a Swelling Solution today; you will be turning your potion in at the end of class. Begin" as Snape said this, he had already begun to walk around the room, inspecting the students and watching them start their potion.

Hermione was busy looking over the ingredients and steps for the potion. She didn't see any way to make the potion more effective, and since she already read about it she knew there were no negative side effects. Her analysis complete, she set up her ingredients and prepared the fire under her cauldron.

Snape had been watching her the whole time and was impressed at how much thought she was putting in to a simple Swelling Solution.

The rest of the class passed without a hitch; no one was foolish enough to ask Snape about Halifax's death and what caused it.

Professor Castus was the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher, so no one bothered to ask him what was going on in the castle. They learned about Knarls, which were currently destroying the gardens, and Harry talked Hermione into using their free period tomorrow to start flying so they would be ready for tryouts.

Hermione had never felt so happy before. It was pure bliss being in the sky. Nothing could bother her, and she enjoyed feeling the wind hit her face; until she would fall, that is. Harry and Draco were patient instructors, and Hermione was able to take a slow and shaky lap around the pitch on her own before they headed in for their next period.

History of Magic was as useless as ever, but as Draco nodded off to sleep, he noticed that Hermione had her textbook cracked open and was searching for something. He shrugged and fell asleep; She'll_ tell me when she's ready. _

After class Hermione stayed to ask Professor Binns something but waved Harry and Draco on. They both continued on to dinner, wondering what she was doing and what Dumbledore would say at dinner.

They sat down quietly, noticing that dinner was a hushed affair, but what stood out even more were several extra adults who were standing in the corners of the room. Harry brightened as he noticed Sirius and surreptitiously waved at his godfather. Sirius winked at him and inclined his head towards the Headmaster, who had begun to speak.

"Students, in light of recent events, I have decided to post several Aurors around the school for your protection. Further more, you are not to leave the grounds for any reason. The Quidditch season has been cancelled-" he paused to allow the groans to end, "but pending further problems, trips to Hogsmeade will be allowed. I will repeat what I said earlier, any student caught after curfew will be severely punished. I will introduce each of the Aurors now, and I expect you to treat them with the utmost respect."

He pointed to Sirius, "That is Sirius Black, the witch next to him is Nymphadora Tonks," he ignored the face she gave him and pointed to the tall wizard in the other corner of the room. "Kingsley Shacklebolt," and he moved to the last corner, "And Alastor Moody." They will be here for the rest of the year, so I suggest you all start off on the right foot."

Dinner was a subdued affair and Hermione didn't make an appearance at all. They walked back to the common room and found her waiting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione waved the boys on to dinner and turned to her ghost professor.

"Sir, I was wondering if you could tell me about the Chamber of Secrets. I was reading Hogwarts: A History and it was mentioned, but I couldn't find anything else about it."

"Let me see…the Chamber of Secrets…you know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago- the precise date is uncertain- by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."

Hermione was trying to be patient with her more-than-ancient professor, but she needed something important, something she hadn't already read about. The ghost had continued talking and she tuned in to what she was saying.

"…few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more _selective_ about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school. The story goes that Slytherin built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

Hermione's mind was working a mile a minute. _So the Heir of Slytherin has returned to school and he is the only one who can open the Chamber and unleash the horror within. The next question is what is the horror and how does he control it?_

"Sir, what is the horror within the Chamber?"

"It was believed that a monster that only the Heir can control resided within the Chamber, but the Chamber doesn't exist."

Hermione ignored the last part of what he said and asked, "Is there a selective trait in wizards that will give them control over an animal?"

Professor Binns looked annoyed at her question, but answered nonetheless, "Each animal has its own language, Miss Gardner-" Hermione ignored the fact that he called her by the wrong name and hid the dismay that welled up inside of her at the thought of having to narrow down the animal from the hundreds that she knew of. "But there have only been a selective few who were able to understand or talk to selective animals. Most of the legendary animals, like phoenixes, and basilisks, and to a lesser degree acromantulas, leprechauns, veelas, and others, have the ability to select wizards or witches to understand them, and thus, the ability manifested in the designated host and was passed on to their descendents."

Hermione, however, had stopped listening after he mentioned basilisks. It suddenly made sense, but she needed to check something.

"Thank you, Professor Binns," she called as she ran out of his room.

She spent the rest of dinner in the library, researching basilisks and how they killed. She knew that the teachers already knew about the Chamber, but she didn't know if they knew that the creature was a basilisk. She decided to tell Harry and Draco about it first.

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"Hermione you missed dinner-" Harry started, but Hermione interrupted him. "I found out what's going on and why that girl died." Harry and Draco turned to look at her, "Really? Dumbledore hasn't told us anything, but he has posted several Aurors around the school for protection."

Hermione nodded, although she now knew that Aurors wouldn't help that much.

"Well, on the way to Potions I overheard Professors McGonagall and Sprout saying that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened again. I stayed after to ask Professor Binns and he told me about the Chamber. He told me that Salazar Slytherin created a secret Chamber and that the other Founders didn't know about it. According to the legend, a monster that only the Heir of Slytherin could control. Seeing that Slytherin is represented by a snake, I'm under the assumption that the monster is a snake. The only snake that kills instantly without leaving any trace is the basilisk. The only thing I haven't figured out is how a humongous snake is getting around without being seen."

Before the boys could respond to what she told them, Katie Kirby came through the portrait hole, screaming, "Another student is dead. I just saw him!" Professor Snape had obviously heard the screaming, as did Sirius, who both came running.

"Severus, do you have a Cal-" he stopped talking as Snape pulled a Calming Draught out of his pocket and handed it to Katie.

"Miss Granger, would you be so kind as to accompany Miss Kirby to the Hospital Wing while Mr. Black looks for the student?" Snape said.

"Of course, sir" She walked over and put her hand on Katie's shoulder and led her to the Hospital Wing, with Sirius behind them. Snape walked with them for a little before turning towards his classroom.

"It was good to see you again, Severus" Sirius said when he turned away.

"You as well, mutt" they both smirked at the joke and Hermione wondered what she was missing, but continued walking towards the Hospital Wing.

As they entered the corridor that the Hospital Wing was in, Sirius called out to Hermione, "Hermione, stay here." She looked around to see what caused him to tell her this. She watched as Sirius carefully stepped over some broken glass to a bench and leaned down, and then pulled a student out from under the bench.

"Are they- are they alive?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"Yes, he is" Sirius said as he picked up the frozen boy and ran to the Hospital Wing. Hermione led Katie there as well and saw with a start that it was the red headed boy that Harry knew. _Ron, that's what his name is._

Sirius watched as Madam Pomfrey fussed over the boy, trying in vain to wake him up until Hermione spoke up, "It's no use, Madam Pomfrey, he's been Petrified."

Sirius turned to her, "How do you know that?"

"I heard something and followed up on it. One clue led to another and there's only one real explanation."

"And what is that?" Sirius asked as he watched Hermione carefully. _It might have taken the Headmaster longer to discover that the Chamber was opened if Severus hadn't said anything. Is it possible that she found out about it?_

Hermione surveyed him calmly and said, "That Hogwarts is under attack."

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Alright, there's chapter 5.

Just to clear some stuff up: the next chapter will pick up right before Christmas break. I wanted to cover that in this chapter, but I really liked how this one ended.

Draco was able to cancel Hermione's glamour because she was extremely tired and unfocused, as such; she wasn't concentrating or putting enough energy into keeping her glamour in place.

Any direct contact- that means skin to skin- between Hermione, aka the child of the prophecy, and a marked Death Eater, will alert Voldemort. I changed the part earlier in my story that has Snape checking Hermione's pulse so that this will make sense. The other time Snape touches her is on her shoulder, in other words, not skin to skin, since she has robes on (and I know that whole sentence sounded really wrong). So I will make an effort to correct this in my future chapters.

Always,

Sinkme


	7. Secrets and Spells

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Maintanence:

_Thought_

"Normal speaking"

_"Spell"_

_Nonverbal Spell_

_"Parseltounge"_

Sorry it took so long to update, but this little thing called AP Calculus kept getting in the way.

This chapter won't be as long as I wanted it to be because I broke it into two parts. I wanted to give you guys something while I work on the end of Hermione's second year. Fear not, though, I will update faster!

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Everyone was in a panic in the week preceding the holiday break.

The younger students were terrified of the unknown monster that struck their schoolmates without warning, the older students had noticed that only muggleborns and a muggle supporter had been attacked, and the teachers were tight lipped about the whole thing.

Breakfast the morning after Ron had been Petrified and the other Gryffindor boy, Alan Pickney, had been discovered dead in a hallway on the second floor was a quiet affair. The Gryffindors were especially morose since two of their house members had been attacked.

Dumbledore knew he couldn't keep it quiet any longer, so he stood to explain what was happening and what was going to happen, "Students, could I have your attention please," everyone turned to look at the Headmaster and the room remained as deathly quiet as it was before. "As you all have noticed, something is dreadfully wrong with the castle. As of yet, we don't know what it is, but the professors and I have decided that it is not safe for any of you to remain in the castle over the holiday break. Accommodations will be made for those students who do not have a place to stay. We appreciate your cooperation and ask that you follow the rules that we have outlined in order to keep you safe" Dumbledore's eyes glazed over everyone's faces, and rested on Hermione for a moment.

_He must know about our training in the Room of Requirement. _Hermione gave him a brief nod to show that she wouldn't venture out after hours anymore. Snape noticed the exchange and wondered what Dumbledore knew.

"Break will start at the end of the week, and I ask that no one remain out after curfew, whether you are with someone or not. Detentions will take place during meals to assure that no student will have to stay out late. The professors, myself, and the Aurors will be in the halls in between classes and we ask that if you notice anything suspicious that you tell someone immediately. Hopefully this will be resolved by the time you return from your break" Dumbledore took his seat and the meal began.

Throughout the meal, Snape noticed as well that the students in the other Houses continued to throw dirty looks at the Slytherin table. _Of course, _he thought wryly, _something bad happens and it must be a Slytherin's fault. Although the two students who died were Muggleborn, and the Weasley's are known as blood traitors throughout the pureblood world. _He pushed these thoughts from his mind and distracted himself with a mental list of potions that the Hospital Wing would need.

The Prefects led the students back to their Common Rooms, having been given a free period while the teachers discussed what was to be done for the week.

The Aurors came to the Head table and looked to Dumbledore for instructions. As he opened his mouth, Sirius said, "Headmaster, I think that Miss Granger knows what's going on."

The other professors looked shocked, and Dumbledore inclined his head to Sirius, indicating that he should continue.

"When I brought Ron Weasley to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey tried to revive him. Miss Granger said that it was no use, since he was petrified. I asked her how she knew that and she said that she heard something and followed through on it. Is it possible that she could find the information from a teacher or a book in the library?"

The question was directed at Dumbledore, but it was McGonagall who answered, "No, there are no books that mention the Chamber of Secrets in the library that a second year could have access to."

Snape looked pensive as he said, "She might not need a book, per say, although I am fairly certain that Hogwarts: A History at least mentions a Chamber. She could have gotten the information from a professor."

Tonks looked confused, "But who would tell her. We all know the truth, but we all have enough sense not to tell a student anything."

"That's true, but not all the teachers are accounted for, Nym- Tonks" Remus said, quickly correcting his slip up.

"Who's not here? All the teachers come to meals in the Great Hall, everyone's here" Tonks said, looking around.

"My God" McGonagall said as she realized who they were talking about.

"Professor Binns has no idea what is going on and would have given her more than enough information to add everything up" Kingsley said in his deep voice.

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"Hermione, you know I would offer my house to you for the break, but I can't risk anyone finding out about my family. No offense, but having a Muggleborn over for Christmas might just set the warning bells off in Tom's head" Harry smirked at the thought of bells dancing around Voldemort's head and then turned to Hermione as she waved Draco off.

"I know, Draco. Don't worry about it" Hermione didn't want to go back home for Christmas, but it looked like she was going to have to do just that.

"Remus already told me that you could come stay with us if you wanted. I think it would be better than you going back home" Harry said carefully.

Hermione looked at him and saw that he understood why she was holding back. "You won't be a burden and I'm not offering because I feel sorry for you. I'm not stupid enough to do that; you could hex me too well. I'm asking because you're my friend and I want you to be there" Harry looked at her, hoping that she would agree.

Hermione thought it over. _It would be nice to spend the holiday with someone who cared about me; I just don't want to get in their way. Although I would be able to use magic over the break and Harry and I could train. _Hermione looked up at Harry and nodded, "If it's alright, I'd like to spend the break with you."

Harry smiled brilliantly and Draco even gave her a warm smile. The moment was short-lived, however, when Snape came through the portrait hole and announced that Hermione needed to come with him.

Draco and Harry gave her a sympathetic look, but she waved them off, _Snape's really not that bad. He was really nice last Christmas when I was stuck here and even let me help him make some potions. _

As they left the dungeons, Hermione looked to her professor and asked, "Sir, where are we going?"

"To the Headmaster's office" was all he said.

Hermione didn't let her emotions show, but she was curious as to why she was going to see the Headmaster. _Maybe he wants to make sure I won't go out after curfew. He seemed to know that Harry, Draco, and I were out most nights. _

Snape noticed that she didn't let anything show on her face after he told her they were going to see Dumbledore. _She is much too composed for a twelve year old. I purposefully didn't assure her that she wasn't in trouble to see how she would react, but I never expected to see her so controlled. I wonder how much she knows or suspects about the current situation. _

They came to the Headmaster's office and Snape whispered the password, both to keep the password secret and to save himself the embarrassment of having to say a Muggle sweet out loud.

She followed him past the stone gargoyle and into the Headmaster's office, keeping her face neutral. She looked around the room, noticing that Sirius was in the corner of the room and that he didn't seem upset.

"Ah, Miss Granger. Don't worry my dear, you're not in trouble. I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions, nothing too drastic, I assure you. Auror Black mentioned to me that he thought you knew what was going on in the school. Is there anything that you'd like to tell me?" he asked, careful to keep his tone friendly.

_Is there anything _you'd _like to tell me_? she silently fumed, but maintained her outward façade. "No, sir. What I meant was that something is obviously going on in the school. I heard some students in the hall talking about-" she broke off here, pretending to be distraught- "You-Know-Who, saying that he was attacking the school from the inside."

_There, I've given him the idea without making it seem like I know what's going on. He can carry the idea further and arrive at the conclusion eventually. I should get an award for my acting skills. But if the attacks continue, though, I'll tell Professor Snape. _

Snape and Sirius both narrowed their eyes; _She's hiding something. _

Dumbledore, however, seemed completely unfazed, although his mind was in overdrive. _It's not possible for Voldemort to enter the school. I won't believe that he's in the school. Someone else must be pulling the strings._ He tried to probe Hermione's mind to find the identity of the students, but to his surprise he was met with solid defenses. _How can a twelve year old be this accomplished at Occlumency? I must speak with Severus. She could grow out of my control very quickly. _

Hermione mentally raised an eyebrow. _What was the Headmaster trying to pull? I guess he didn't know about my mind shielding abilities. Which makes me wonder why Professor Snape didn't tell him. I need to learn more about Legilimency, though. Maybe I can find a way to reverse the process back on the intruder. _

She remained silent for a few moments, and then said, "Headmaster, may I go back to the Common Room?"

"Of course, of course. Auror Black will escort you back since I need to speak with Professor Snape for a moment." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand, and Hermione had a brief feeling of irritation that the old man would try to manipulate her and read her mind without permission.

Sirius walked alongside Hermione silently until they were out of view of the gargoyle, then he said, "Look, Hermione. I wasn't trying to get you in trouble or anything. But my job is to protect this school, and if you know something then it's my job to find out what you know."

"I understand, Sirius. I promise that I will tell someone what I think is going on if the Headmaster doesn't figure out what's going on. And don't worry; I'll keep an eye on Harry."

She entered the Common Room and went straight up to her room after seeing that the boys already went to bed. She pulled a box out of her trunk and enlarged two of the items from it.

She looked over the two way mirrors appraisingly, _these could come in handy for later, except that I need another one. Maybe Ben had a spell to copy something._

She pulled his letter out and flipped to the page of advanced magic that he had left her. She scanned the page until she saw something that could work.

"_The effingonis spell is extremely advanced magic that is used to make copies of any inanimate object. The wand demonstrations are illustrated below and the incantation is 'effingonis' this spell cannot be used to make copies of anything living and to attempt it would spell death or extreme magical backlash for the caster. (Hermione- you are never to use this spell for __anything_ _that is alive- plants, animals, humans, anything. I mean it!)"_

Hermione smirked when she saw Ben's warning and went through the wand motions for several minutes before she carefully pronounced the spell and attempted to cast it. On her fifth try she managed to get a spark of yellow light and resolved to try harder. _This is really advanced magic. I wonder where Ben found all of these spells?_

She was beginning to get tired but she continued until a bright yellow light shot from her wand and hit one of the mirrors. A bright flash followed and Hermione fell back onto her bed, unconscious from the effort the spell took.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore started as he felt a powerful magic pulse and then die; he looked out his window as Fawkes gave a cry of confusion.

At the same time, dozens of miles away, Voldemort smiled as he pet Nagini, _"Sssuch power"_ he determined to try and turn the child dark before killing him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione woke up in the middle of the night and glanced around confusedly. _What happened? I was trying to copy the mirrors…Oh!_

She sat up in her bed and looked around for the mirrors quietly, so the other girls would remain asleep and unaware. The mirrors were at the edge of her bed and she saw a third one off to the side. _It worked! Now I need to make sure they are all connected. That can wait until tomorrow, though, since I need to give them to Harry and Draco._

She put the mirrors back in her trunk and went back to sleep.

She woke up refreshed and quickly cast _"lumos"_ her wand tip lit up and she was satisfied that her magic was completely restored. She changed and put on her robes, then placed the mirrors in her pocket and walked down to the Common Room.

Draco and Harry were already up, Draco was teaching Harry how to play Exploding Snap, and almost all of the other Slytherins had already gone to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Morning Hermione" they called and she smiled as she walked over. "Hey guys, I have something I need to give both of you."

"Hermione, you can't give us gifts now, you have to wait until Christmas" Harry said, although he was curious as to what she was giving them.

"It's not really a gift, per say, but it's really important and it can't wait until Christmas" she said as she pulled two of the mirrors out. She handed one to each of them and then took hers out as well.

"They're two way mirrors," Hermione explained. "Then why are there three of them?" Draco asked as he examined his.

"Ben had another set so I took one of those" Hermione said dismissively. She knew Draco wasn't fooled, but she hoped he would let it be for now.

"Anyway, you need to open it and place the tip of your wand in the center of the pad and then say your name so the mirror recognizes you" she waited while they did as she said.

"Why do we need our wands? Sirius told me about these a while ago, but he never mentioned that you needed to use a wand" Harry asked.

"Using your wand will key the mirror to your magical signature so that only you can open the mirror" Draco was the one who answered Harry and Hermione looked surprised that he knew.

"Ok, now one of you go up to your dormitory and I'll go up to mine. We need to make sure that we can all talk to each other" Hermione explained before she walked up to her dormitory. Draco stayed in the Common Room while Harry went up to their dorm.

Hermione opened her mirror and said "Draco." His face appeared in her mirror when he opened it. "Call Harry and then tell him to call me" Hermione instructed. Draco nodded and called "Harry."

Draco looked down at his mirror as Harry's face popped up next to Hermione's. "Hermione it works for both of you" Draco said.

"Ok, good. Have Harry call me anyway. I can't directly communicate with him yet."

"Harry, call Hermione in yours" Draco said. Harry nodded and called "Hermione." Hermione looked at her mirror, satisfied that they worked, before closing it and walking back down the stairs.

"Let's go to the Hall now" she said as they waited for Harry to join them.

Draco nodded, he looked like he wanted to say something, but he held it back.

Hermione mentally sighed, _I know I'm not fooling him at all, he suspects something. I don't want to keep anything from them, but it will be better for them if I keep some things to myself. _

They walked into the Hall and sat down at the end while filling their plates with all sorts of breakfast food. They had their regular classes today, starting with Charms, so they made their way to Professor Flitwick's room after they were finished.

It was a fairly boring lesson about the theory behind levitation charms but the lesson was cut short by the appearance of a silvery phoenix that flew to Professor Flitwick.

Hermione looked at it, wondering what it was. She turned to Draco to ask him but he was already answering her unspoken question. "It's a Patronus" he said.

Draco was about to explain more when Professor Flitwick said, "Everyone is to return to your Common Rooms now and wait for your Head of House."

Hermione stuck close to Harry and Draco, wondering what was going on as they walked back to their Common Room. Along the way, she heard some older students talking.

"That's what I heard Alianne say." "She's in Gryffindor, right?" "Yea, that's her. She said three students from her House are missing." "I heard that two are gone from both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."

Hermione looked away and tried not to hear anymore. _Two are already dead and Ron is Petrified. Now there are seven other students missing. I need to tell Professor Snape everything. I think I can trust him._

They came to the Common Room and were very glad that the Slytherin dorms were spread out so much. There was a second Common Room that only the older students used, so that the main Common Room was less crowded.

Hermione, Harry, and Draco sat on a couch and waited for the news. Harry and Draco continued their Exploding Snap game while Hermione pulled out a book. _I hope no one sees through the glamour I placed on the book. I think someone would get suspicious if they saw that I was reading a book about the Dark Mark, but I want to find out more about the mark that Harry has. _

She read for a while before the Common Room door opened and Hermione quickly put her book away.

Snape looked at his Slytherins and took a deep breath before making his announcement, "There are seven students missing. The teachers just searched the school and they have not been found. If anyone knows anything about this they need to step forward now." Snape looked around, not surprised that no one stepped up, _Slytherins aren't exactly famous for giving themselves in. _

"You all need to pack your things right now, the train is coming tomorrow morning and you will start your break early" he held up a large sheet of parchment. "Your assignments for break are on here. Each year's work is listed so you have no excuse for not getting the work."

Hermione got up under the pretense of checking the assignment sheet, but then she walked out of the portrait hole.

"Professor Snape!" she called, looking around for him. He walked out of the shadows silently, but Hermione spun around to face him.

_Interesting. I didn't make a sound, and yet, she knew where I was. _

Hermione gave him a cheeky grin. "I knew you would hide there."

He fixed his face into a scowl, "Did you need something, Miss Granger?"

Her face fell instantly, "Could we talk in your classroom, sir?" She wouldn't meet his eyes and he wondered what she needed to talk to him about.

_Of course! She must not want to go home for the break. But she can't stay here, and she can't go with Draco. Maybe she could stay with Black. _

They walked to his classroom in silence and Hermione composed herself before walking through the door. _Just tell him the truth._

Snape leaned against his desk, arms crossed, and looked at her expectantly.

"Sir, I think I know what is happening in the school" Hermione began.

_So it's not about the holiday break then. I finally get to find out what she wouldn't tell Dumbledore earlier. _

He remained silent, giving her time to find the words she wanted to say. "I heard someone mention the Chamber of Secrets before and I couldn't find any book that mentioned it, not even our History of Magic book. So I asked Professor Binns about it and he told me what it is. He mentioned that it was made by Salazar Slytherin and that only he could control the monster that was in the Chamber" she paused and chanced a glance at Snape.

He was looking at her impassively, so she continued. "When I asked Professor Binns what the monster was and how Salazar could control it, he mentioned that the ability to speak to animals was a trait that some wizards acquired. From there I did my own research and found that Salazar could talk to snakes, which makes sense because of the House crest, and then I found that the only snake that could kill someone without leaving a mark on them is the basilisk."

Although Snape was surprised at both Hermione's tenacity at finding out about the Chamber, and the identity of the monster in the Chamber, he kept his face neutral. _A basilisk would explain why the students died without a mark on them, since their gaze kills instantly, and it obviously explains why the Weasley was Petrified. But it doesn't explain the missing students. There has to be something more going on here. _

He looked at Hermione and said, "Thank you for telling me, but I am curious as to why you told me and not the Headmaster."

Hermione's voice became tight, "I don't trust him."

Snape did show his surprise at that, "And why not?"

Hermione weighed the consequences and decided to tell him, "When I told him about the Chamber the first time he tried to get into my mind. I could feel the intent behind it and it wasn't just to see what I knew. He tried to influence my thinking. I blocked him out, though." Her eyes became hard and began to resemble ice, "I don't like being manipulated."

Snape had nothing to say to that, so he asked if she wanted to go back to the Common Room. Once more they walked in silence, and once Hermione was safely inside Snape was alone with his thoughts. He followed the same route back by habit, since his mind was preoccupied.

"_Interesting that she thinks that she is being manipulated. Granted, Albus isn't as innocent as everyone would like to believe. He has a bad habit of letting people figure things out for themselves, even when it might be too late. Albus mentioned to me that he used Legilimency on her and that she blocked it, but he never said why he used it in the first place. _

He reached his classroom before he realized that he had to talk to the Headmaster, and turned around the way he came.

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Hermione packed her things slowly, although it didn't take long since she didn't have many personal items beyond her clothes. She rarely took out the things that Ben left her because she didn't want to explain them to her roommates. After she was done, she curled up under her blankets and took a few calming breaths.

_I know it's silly to worry, but I'm scared that Harry will take back what he said and I'll have to stay with my father. I wouldn't blame Harry, though; I'm so different from everyone. I don't even fit-in in this world. _

She wiped away a few angry tears and decided to go to the Room of Requirement to blow off some steam.

She crept along the hallways silently, using the classrooms and other alcoves along the way to hide from the occasional ghost. She wondered why there were no teachers patrolling the hall as she walked into the Room of Requirement.

She started with her physical training; fifty pushups and sit-ups later found her jogging a mile on the track that appeared for her. She sat down, breathing hard and still upset, so she decided to work on some offensive spells.

"_Reducto"_ she cried at a dummy. It burst into pieces before reassembling in front of her. She suddenly felt something grow hot in her pocket and pulled out her mirror.

"Hermione, where are you?" Draco sounded panicked.

"I'm here Draco, I'm in the Room" she said softly.

"What happened? What's on your face?" he asked, no calmer now that he noticed she had been crying.

"It's nothing" she said thickly, wiping the tear smudges away. "I needed to practice so I came here."

"Hermione," Draco said quietly, looking at his friend's face. After a moment he said, "You should come back. The Prefects announced that the Heads will be coming around soon to check that everyone's here and packed."

She nodded, and then closed the mirror with a snap. She took a moment to compose herself before performing a quick cleansing charm on herself. Before she walked through the door she cast a revealing charm on the corridor to make sure she wouldn't run into anyone.

Once the coast was clear, she walked through the door and stealthily made her way down to the Slytherin Common Room. The portrait gave her a glare before she walked through and quickly fled to her dorm.

Logically she knew it was silly that she would think that Harry and Draco would abandon her after being with her for their first year, but she had been alone her entire childhood.

Hermione closed her eyes against the memories that threatened to engulf her and concentrated on clearing her mind like the book on Occlumency had taught her.

She felt herself being shaken and a voice say, "Come on Hermione, wake up. Professor Snape is here and needs to check that the students are here."

Hermione hadn't yet cleared the fog from her mind, so she had trouble obeying the voice.

Katie got a wicked grin on her face before she cast a simple charm, transfiguring a pillow into a bucket, and then filled the bucket with water.

She poured the water over Hermione's head, and Hermione came to with a gasp. "What was that for?" she asked crossly.

Katie grinned, "Nothing personal, just that you were next on my list."

Despite herself and her current attitude, Hermione asked, "What list?"

Katie allowed herself a small smile for snapping Hermione out of her mood before she answered, "Well, I'm trying to do that to all of our Slytherin yearmates."

"Pour water over their heads? Good luck with that" Hermione said with a snort. "Who else have you done it to?"

"No one, you received the honor of being the first one I pranked" Katie smiled again. "Now come on, Professor Snape will be in the Common Room in a minute."

They walked down the stairs together and waited as Professor Snape walked silently into the room.

He looked to the Prefects, "Is anyone missing?"

"Not so far, sir. We've checked the upper years already and we only have the first and second years left" answered the closest Prefect.

"Do so now" he ordered. Several Prefects walked among the first and second years, looking for their charges.

It was times like this that Severus Snape was glad that he had structured his House differently. While the other Houses only used their Prefects for enforcing the rules, Snape assigned first and second years to each Prefect. The students were instructed to see their Prefect if they had any concerns, and the Prefects were responsible for keeping their students in line and teaching them about Hogwarts.

By third year the students were familiar with the castle and they were assigned a sixth year student as their buddy. The seventh years were assigned a fifth year student, since they both had exams to take, and the fourth years were paired off with either each other or any extra students from the other years.

_It's no wonder that Albus gave everyone the night off. Minerva and the other Heads must be having a hard time taking role for each year by themselves, _he allowed himself a smirk as he turned to the Prefects.

"Everyone is here, sir" they reported.

He nodded and looked at his House, "Make sure you are packed. You will be leaving after breakfast tomorrow. No one is to leave these rooms for any reason. The Prefects know how to contact me, so go to them if there is an emergency." He turned smartly on his heels and left the Common Room, robes billowing behind him.

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Breakfast came slowly, as everyone was afraid that the monster would make some last ditch effort to kill as many students as possible before they left for break.

Hermione stayed up most of the night looking over the spells that Ben left her to practice. She had tried to keep practicing, but the recent attacks and restrictions on free time meant that it wasn't easy to sneak off to the Room of Requirement frequently. She had managed the odd day every now and then, but not enough to really feel prepared.

Dumbledore stood as the morning chatter died down and announced, "Students, please follow Mr. Filch out to the train. Do not wander from the path for anything. The House Elves have already taken all of your trunks to the train and your families will be waiting for you at the station. Have a safe holiday."

With that he turned and walked out of the room, using a back door so that the students couldn't see where he went. The Heads of Houses walked among their respective tables, making sure that the students were leaving, and walked out with them to the platform.

Hermione found herself walking next to Professor Snape so she took the opportunity to glance over at him, making no effort to hide her gaze.

"Something troubling you, Miss Granger?" Snape asked with a lazy drawl.

"Sir, I know this will sound silly, but please stay safe over the holiday" Hermione said quietly, too embarrassed to look at her Head of House.

Snape hid his surprise at the comment and answered, "You should not be concerned for me" before he swiftly walked away.

Hermione was confused by his actions, but said nothing. She boarded the train with Harry and Draco and tried to find a compartment for the three of them.

She watched as Hogwarts faded into the background before it occurred to her that she should give Draco his Christmas gift now.

She pulled out a small package from her robes and enlarged it before handing it silently to Draco.

"Um, thanks?" he said, looking warily at the package.

"It's not going to explode, you know" she said with amusement.

"I don't know. I got a quill once from Fred and George, but they made it explode when I tried to write with it. Scared the pants off me, but they found it rather funny" Harry recalled with a sort of grimace, as though the memory still caused him discomfort.

"I thought that since I'll be staying with Harry over break I should give you your gift now. I didn't think that sending it to your house would be a good idea" Hermione stated.

Draco wrinkled his nose, "That's probably a good idea. I won't open it until Christmas, though. I'll just keep it in my room until then." He shrunk the package once more and the conversation turned to the homework that was assigned to them for the break.

"Harry-" Hermione began, but then stopped, as if she were unsure how she wanted to continue. "You're sure that me staying over break isn't a problem? I could stay with, with my dad. It wouldn't be a problem. I've spent my other holidays with him, it really wouldn't be that bad." She was rambling now, but she couldn't stop.

Harry quickly moved so that he was next to Hermione and put a hand on her shoulder. She repressed a flinch at the sudden contact and looked at her green eyed friend.

"Hermione. I promise you that you staying over is not a problem. My house has a lot of room and both Sirius and Lupin would love to have you. Besides, Lara seems to get along with Hedwig; they could keep each other company" Harry smiled at her and Hermione felt some of her worries slowly fade away.

The rest of the train ride passed quickly and Hermione was in much better spirits as the train pulled in. Draco said goodbye and quickly disappeared into the crowd, but Hermione spotted his father standing off to the side, watching Harry and her.

Harry pulled her over to Sirius after they had found their trunks and Hermione pulled Lara's cage out with her, as did Harry for Hedwig's cage. Sirius came over and helped them with their trunks before leading them out of the station and to a deserted alley.

"I have a Portkey that will take us to an alley near the house. From there the two of you will wait while I make sure the coast is clear, and then we'll get into the house as quickly as possible. Ok?" Sirius looked at them, waiting for their nods of consent before pulling out an old shoe and tapping it with his wand. "Hold on tight."

Hermione felt a pull and then felt her feet lift off the ground. She could hear the wind whipping past her and saw only a swirl of colors before landing hard on her feet and fell over from the shock.

Sirius helped her up and then reminded them that they were to wait for him. Hermione barely restrained her gasp when Sirius transformed into a large shaggy black dog and trotted off.

She looked at Harry, noticing that he didn't seem surprised at all. _Well, obviously he knows that his guardian can turn into a large black dog _Hermione thought.

Harry returned Hermione's look and simply said, "I'll explain it inside. Don't worry."

Sirius-the-dog returned after several minutes and transformed back, "It's all clear. Hurry though."

Hermione dragged her trunk behind Harry while Sirius grabbed both of the bird cages and walked behind her. She followed Harry up the steps and into a house without pausing to look around.

Only when Sirius was in and the door was shut did she allow herself to look around. The house was very large, Hermione could tell that it was old but well-kept, and there were lots of pictures of Harry. As she looked around the house more, she noticed several antiques, obviously old, and most looked valuable. Then there was the thing that stood in hall. She didn't know what it was, but there were velvet drapes blocking it from view, and someone had stuck Muggle "Caution" tape over it.

Before she could ask, Sirius turned to her and said, "Welcome to 12 Grimmauld Place, Hermione. Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix."

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Thanks to Darkness-Lightness for pointing out a mistake

Alright, I just decided to change my earlier plans. The next chapter will be the holiday break and some of the rest of Hermione's second year- it will be a short chapter compared to the rest. But then there will probably be another chapter for year 2 which will have the climax (for this year)- that will be longer.

Again, I apologize for taking so long to update.

Always,  
Sinkme


	8. Purpose and a Portrait

Maintanence:

_Thought_

"Normal speaking"

_"Spell"_

_Nonverbal Spell_

_"Parseltounge"_

Disclaimer: Not mine

Yay for reviewers! Sylphides, Sofia7, Harry-Hermione Potter, Lysjknopp, Stashthesocks, Padslet, Kymie29, Fire Daughter, potterhead0013, XxXxJackBlackxXxX, Darkness-Lightness, pstibbons, digio, camya (anon), and Diespedes

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Hermione looked around the house and then over to where Harry was lying on a couch. "You grew up here?" she asked.

"Yea, since I was little. Sirius and Lupin have raised me since my parents died-" Hermione noticed a shadow cross his face when he mentioned his parents- "and I've lived here since I was one. I know it looks like an old house-"

"Because it is" Sirius cut in. He walked in with a plate of sandwiches and offered them to the second years. Hermione took one to be polite, but did little more than nibble on it.

Sirius noticed but didn't comment on it; instead he began to tell Hermione about the house, "It's been my family's house for generations of Blacks. I am the current heir, and Harry will inherit it when he comes of age. Now," he stood up, rubbing his hands together. "This is the base floor, the kitchen is through those doors, and the dining room is to the right of that. The basement has Severus' personal lab, and I don't think I have to tell you that you are only to go down there with his permission. The first floor is bedrooms; Harry will show you one that you can stay in. The second and third floors are for the Order. The meetings are held here and most of our documents and other such things are kept in rooms on the third floor. Some of the Order members have rooms here; those are on the second floor. Make sure you don't enter any room, especially on the second or third floor, without someone's permission. It is very important that you don't go up to the fourth floor or the attic, since that's where most of my family's old furniture is and the heirlooms that I couldn't throw aw-"

Here Sirius was interrupted by a loud wailing sound from the hall. Hermione looked around for the source of the noise, Harry grinned, and Sirius groaned and looked at his godson.

"Commence Operation Burga!" Harry shouted, and he and Sirius ran out to the hall where the velvet drapes were and Harry yanked them open. Hermione, having followed them to the hall, gasped when she saw what was behind the drapes.

A woman, well past her prime, was sitting primly in a portrait very similar to the ones at Hogwarts. But what made Hermione gasp was what the woman was doing.

She had risen out of her chair and jumped at Sirius, as best as she could, all the while shouting obscenities towards the man. Sirius just laughed and said, "Good old Mum."

Harry was laughing too, but he turned to the portrait and said, "Mrs. Black, would you mind not screaming, or should I get the caution tape out again?"

The woman- Mrs. Black- turned towards Harry. "I wouldn't mind, no. But for your sake I will stop yelling" she turned towards Sirius. "Luckily for you the boy is in Slytherin. Does my heart good to see a young Slytherin boy living here."

"What heart?" Sirius mumbled quietly. Harry sniggered, but Mrs. Black didn't seem to notice because her gaze had found Hermione.

"And who is that? Hopefully another Slytherin come to do the House some justice. Not another Muggle loving Gryffindor like those red headed freaks. I tell you, it's unnatural to have that many children who look so similar."

Harry glanced at Hermione nervously and then back at the portrait. Sirius had stopped laughing and Hermione unconsciously took a step back.

"That's Hermione Granger. She's in Slytherin with me."

"Good, another Slytherin. Now, dear, who are your parents? Hopefully one was a pureblood, as with young Harry here. He would have made a fine Black- strong, determined, powerful. The only thing my ungrateful son ever did right was make him the Black heir. And I can over look one Muggleborn parent-"

Mrs. Black stopped upon seeing the faces of the three people in front of her. Harry's eyes were downcast, Sirius looked nervous, but Hermione had a hard glint in her eyes and she glared right at the portrait.

"Actually I'm Muggleborn." Hermione said with an edge to her voice. Sirius and Harry both flinched in anticipation of the coming storm and took refuge in the living room. Hermione remained where she was.

"WHAT?! A MUDBLOOD IN SLYTHERIN?! THE SHAME! WHAT WAS THAT DAMN HAT THINKING?! AND NOW SHE'S IN MY HOUSE! MY HOUSE! GET OUT, DAMN YOU, OUT! YOU HAVE DISGRACED THE NAME SLYTHERIN AND BROUGHT YOUR FILTH INTO MY HOUSE!"

Mrs. Black was beside herself with rage and Hermione waited until the yelling had transitioned into incoherent babble before she spoke.

"I will not leave. I am a Slytherin whether you like it or not. I am in your house whether you like it or not. And I will not have a two dimensional wench telling me what to do" although she spoke softly her words carried a weight that made Mrs. Black look at the young witch before her in surprise. She noticed that wisps of pure magic were floating off of Hermione and was impressed with her power despite herself.

_She will be powerful indeed. A worthy addition to the Slytherin house despite her lineage. But she's hiding something, she's closing herself off. I can sense it. I should consider accepting her. She will prove to be a strong girl and can guard Harry, since I plan to have him carry on the Black name. _

"Very well, girl. I will give you the chance to prove yourself and I will judge you from there" She turned to her son. "Give her my old room."

With that, the drapes shut themselves, and Hermione turned around to face a shocked looking Harry and Sirius.

"What?" she asked indifferently.

Sirius was the first to recover. "My mother was never a kind woman. She was never a quiet woman. And she always stuck to her first impression when it comes to people- she always judged based on blood status. I have never, never seen her react that way to anyone. She has never given anyone a second chance and has never reacted to anything anyone has said to her, including Severus."

Hermione thought about that for a second. _Not even Professor Snape, hmm. I would have liked to see that. _

She shrugged her shoulders, "I guess we'll find out her reasons eventually. So, Sirius, that was your mum?"

This time it was Sirius who shrugged his shoulders, "Can't choose your family."

_Don't I know it_ Hermione thought.

Sirius walked out of the room and called for Hermione to follow him. "Harry, could you get your trunk upstairs and start unpacking?"

Harry nodded, clearly understanding that Sirius needed to talk to Hermione alone, and trotted to get his trunk.

Sirius led Hermione to a large tapestry that was stuck to a wall. Hermione glanced at it, noticing immediately that it was rather similar to a family tree, and assumed that it was Sirius' family.

"My family has been around for generations. This is the tapestry showing my lineage, although I'm not actually on it" he pointed to a small burn and Hermione squinted to read the name under the mark.

"But why?"

Sirius looked at her appraisingly, as if deciding what he should tell her, before he spoke.

"My family has, for the longest time, believed in the supremacy of blood over anything. We came from a long line of purebloods and most of my family believed that it made them better than others, regardless of their magical talent. I refused to believe what they did, and I eventually ran away. After that, my mom blasted me off of the tapestry. My other relatives-" here he waved to several other burn marks. "were guilty of various misdemeanors that went against my family's beliefs."

"Did your family follow Voldemort?" Hermione asked after a moment of studying the tapestry. She noted that he had a brother, but decided not to ask about him for the moment.

"They believed in what he's trying to do. He wants to separate the Muggle and Magical worlds, and to revive the old ways, where purebloods were one step removed from royalty and held control of the magical world. Some of my family was in favor of denying muggle born children the right to enter our world, but most of them recognized the necessity of allowing them entry.

"Most of my family believed that he had the right idea, but they didn't support the violence he created. With the exception of my cousin, Bellatrix, my family has stayed out of Voldemort's way. My brother Regulus didn't know what he was getting into when he joined the Death Eaters, and he paid the price for it. I don't think my mother has ever gotten over his disappearance."

"What happened to him?" Hermione wondered.

"Regulus was young and foolish when he joined Voldemort. Bellatrix and her group fed him false promises of power and forced him to join. I wasn't close to my brother, since he was in Slytherin and I was in Gryffindor, so nothing I said could convince him to change his mind. He came to me a couple months after his initiation, asking for my help. I took him to Dumbledore, who requested that I leave Regulus with him. I trusted Dumbledore to help my brother"

He broke off and took a deep breath, trying to maintain a calm face before continuing, "All I know is that Dumbledore asked my brother to do something for him. That was the last night I saw my brother. Kreacher is still loyal to him, although I am the current heir to the Black House and fortune and he has to listen to me."

Seeing Hermione's face he explained, "Kreacher is the house elf of the Black family. He is bound to the House and must listen to the Heir and his family. He doesn't listen to Lupin, but he will listen to Harry, since he's legally my heir."

Hermione nodded, trying to digest everything that Sirius told her. "So this house must have a lot of protection on it."

Sirius looked amused, "Of course, everything you could possibly think of. But how did you know?"

Now Hermione looked amused, "Well, it's an old pureblood house, which are typically hidden and protected, and it's the headquarters to the Order. I doubt that the meetings would be held here if everyone wasn't positive that they were safe here.

"Can I ask a question about the Order?"

"Sure, but understand that I can only answer certain things, and probably not to your satisfaction. I am bound by an oath, as are all Order members, to protect its secrets from non members. Although you will need to know most of those secrets, Dumbledore feels that it is too early to tell you some things, and you won't be inducted for a while."

Hermione nodded, she had expected as much, but she was annoyed that Dumbledore was making decisions for her.

"I was wondering about the role that the Order fills. Harry told me a little about its organization, but I'm curious as to the people that are in it and how they work to undermine Voldemort. I'm also curious as to my part in all of this, as the child of the prophecy, and what exactly that prophecy entails." She spoke flippantly, trying to get a reaction out of him to see how big of a secret the prophecy was.

Sirius choked, _How does she know about the prophecy? It's one of the Order's most guarded secrets. Voldemort is aware of the prophecy itself and the general idea behind it, but he doesn't know the whole thing, how does she even know? Maybe Harry told her?_

"Unfortunately, Hermione, I can't answer either of your questions, the identity of Order members is closely guarded, and the prophecy is one of our biggest secrets" he looked at her and held her gaze, "I know it's hard, but you should not speak of it, nor your involvement in it. One of Voldemort's top goals right now it to find and kill you. The Order will do all it can to prevent that, but you need to trust that we will tell you what you need to know."

Hermione nodded, and then stiffened as he put a hand on her shoulder. She forced herself relax as she looked up at him.

"Now, let's get the holiday started" he led her back to the living room. "You can unpack if you want, Harry should be up there, and I'll show you to your room."

Walking up the stairs, Hermione threw one last look at the space where Mrs. Black's portrait hung, before following Sirius.

"This is your room, Hermione, for as long as you need it" She looked at him, surprised, before nodding her thanks.

"Lupin should be back later, and dinner will be at seven. Take as much time as you need to unpack."

Sirius was half way out of the room when Hermione called him.

"We're allowed to use magic here, right?"

He smirked, guessing her intentions, "Of course. This house has so many protections on it that the Ministry won't be able to tell if you use magic at all. Feel free to change the room around if you want."

Hermione turned to survey her room. _It's not unpleasant, but it could use some touching up. _With a murmured cleaning spell, she watched as the dust and cobwebs disappeared, and then turned to the desk. _It will do, I guess. I don't want to try to transfigure it yet. We haven't really gotten to transfiguring large objects yet. But I can change the color of certain things. _

She pointed her wand at the desk, book shelves, and armoire, changing them from their previous black to a rich, deep brown. The wall was Slytherin green, and she decided to keep it. The bedspread, pillows, and sheets were similarly colored in the traditional green and silver. She put Lara's cage in one of the corners.

Hermione opened her trunk and moved her clothes to the armoire then took out her school books and placed them on the book shelves next to the desk. She took out the picture that Lupin had insisted on taking on their last day as first years and placed it on the desk. Then she pulled out the album she kept of articles that had appeared in the Daily Prophet, chronicling the rise of Voldemort and news on his raids and other activities.

Hermione knew, unlike the public, that the Prophet worked independent of the Ministry, and in opposition to Voldemort. She suspected that there were Order members working to publish the daily newspaper that informed the wizarding world, but her suspicions were unconfirmed. No one knew where the Prophet was based out of, and copies were circulated by owls and a one way Floo system so that they couldn't be traced.

She placed the album on the desk as well, then took a last glance around the room. _It won't last. Something will happen and they'll want me gone. _

She picked up a book on potions theory, her notebook, and a quill, and made her way back to the living room, where she curled into a chair to read.

She scratched notes and ideas into her notebook as she read. Various ideas for potions, things to be cross referenced, and important facts for brewing found their way into that notebook.

She had a section for each of her subjects at Hogwarts, a section for the Order, the war, Voldemort, the Death Eaters, the prophecy, students at Hogwarts, and the teachers. She recorded facts, thoughts, and ideas in each section to keep everything straight.

All in all, the notebook was huge, and Hermione was incredibly grateful that Ben had left her several spells that she had adjusted in order to make the notebook more manageable. She had a spell on it to minimize the sections not in use, a spell that bound the notebook to her so that no one but her and anyone she keyed to it would be able to open it or see what was written, a spell that made it water and fire proof, and a spell that made it resistant to summoning spells.

She continued to jot notes down until she heard a knock on her door. She closed her notebook and placed it down, with the book and quill on top of it, then turned to see who had knocked.

It was Lupin, looking more tired and pale than she remembered seeing him at school.

"Hello Hermione" he greeted, just as cheerful as ever.

"Hello Professor" she responded in kind.

"Please, Hermione, just Lupin while you're here. No need for formalities"

Hermione assented and followed him to the kitchen, where Sirius and Harry were charming marshmallows to hit each other. Hermione laughed; it was definitely not what she expected, and saw that Lupin sighed. _I guess he's used to them doing this sort of thing._

Upon seeing two new targets, the marshmallows were directed at them, and Hermione and Lupin found themselves being pelted by the sugary treats. They were quick to counter attack, though, and Sirius gave up shortly after that.

"Good to see you back so soon Remus. Dinner will be ready soon" Sirius said as he crawled out from under the table he had hidden in.

"Good. I see that Harry and Hermione are settled in. And Severus will be joining us for a little while" he cast a significant glance at Sirius, who seemed to understand.

Harry didn't seem surprised by this, so Hermione decided not to ask yet. She would see why the Professor came when he arrived.

"Can I help with anything?" Hermione asked, feeling useless.

"Nope, Kreacher makes the meals around here and no offense, but he wouldn't welcome any help. It's a miracle that Molly takes hold of the kitchen when she's here."

"Sirius, I think you are greatly underestimating Molly Weasley. She can be very fierce when she wants to be. And she's a great cook" Lupin said with a laugh.

Harry noticed that Hermione looked confused so he explained, "When the Order comes over Mrs. Weasley cooks for us for as long as she's here. She only comes over when there are meetings, though."

"Actually there will be a meeting some time next week" Lupin said. "I just spoke to Dumbledore-"

Whatever else he was going to say was cut off by the sound of the Floo being activated. "Lupin?" a voice called.

"I'm coming, Severus" Lupin said as he made to walk out of the kitchen.

"No, don't bother, I'm already here" Snape said from the doorway. He held a steaming goblet in his hands. He passed the goblet over to Lupin, who took a sip and grimaced at the taste before downing the rest in three quick gulps.

"Thank you, Severus" Lupin said, but Snape just waved his hand.

There was an awkward silence until Hermione asked, "Will you be staying for dinner, sir?"

"No, I don't think I will. I have some brewing to finish, and then I suspect I will have a meeting" he nodded to Lupin and Sirius as he walked to the fireplace and Flooed back to Hogwarts.

"Pro- Lupin, what was that potion for?" Hermione asked after the green flames had died down.

Harry, Lupin, and Sirius traded a panicked glance before Lupin said quietly, "She has a right to know." He sat down next to Hermione and looked at her before speaking. "That potion was the Wolfsbane Potion, and I take it because I am a werewolf. I was bitten when I was a young boy." When he had finished he was looking at the floor instead of at Hermione.

"Oh, ok" Hermione said. "What does the potion do?"

Lupin looked up, surprised by her reaction. "You're ok with my being a werewolf?" he sounded pained, and Sirius was saddened that Lupin was so used to rejection that he had come to expect it from people who knew of his ailment.

Hermione, too, was upset at his tone. "You've never given me a reason not to trust or respect you. Being a werewolf doesn't change anything in my view. You don't judge me for being muggleborn, so why should I judge you for something you obviously have no control over?"

Lupin was too surprised to say anything. _This girl has given me something that precious few have before. It took many years before most of the Order accepted me. And although most of the staff hides their discomfort, I can tell that they're a little unnerved at having me teach at Hogwarts. I know Minerva supports me, and Albus of course. I suspect that Severus does, even though he claims to make the Wolfsbane on Albus' order I want to believe that we are friends, of a sort. Sirius and James accepted me, but I had no other friends that knew of my condition. Harry took it in stride, but he had known me for years before we told him. Hermione is one of the only people to have accepted me for who I am._

"Hermione. Thank you" Lupin managed to say.

Hermione nodded, unused to such an emotional display. She tentatively reached out to touch his hand and he clamped on to hers.

Harry watched Hermione curiously; he suspected that she had known, or guessed, that Lupin was a werewolf, either that or she was better at hiding what she was thinking then he had previously thought. He would wait, though, and ask her when they were alone.

Kreacher popped in a moment later to announce that dinner was ready, and the four of them moved to the dining room to eat.

Hermione's appetite had improved greatly, but she ate nothing compared to Harry and Sirius.

"So, what do you kids have planned?" Sirius asked once he had finished his third helping.

Harry looked over to Hermione, "Well, we should probably finish our assignments so we can enjoy the rest of the holiday. When are the Weasley's coming over?"

"Well, the Mandrakes are almost ready, so Ron will be revived in the next day or two. The Weasley's will probably join us in about five days. My, um, transformation will be in four days, so you two will be on your own with Sirius for two days. There is an Order meeting a week from tomorrow, so that will be on the 21st. That will give us time to plan our actions for a possible attack on Christmas" Lupin explained.

"You guys won't be allowed in the meeting, but you won't be kept in the dark either. And there are some tasks that you can do that would help the Order" Lupin looked over at him and Sirius hastily added, "Once you've finished your school assignments, of course."

Hermione and Harry dutifully nodded. Hermione knew that her own work wouldn't take that long and neither would Harry's.

Harry glanced at Hermione as he said, "I don't think our work will take that long, and you know that we can use magic here. There's a room on the second floor that has been turned into a sort of gym, for the Order to train in. It has been magically expanded, and we can train there if you want."

Hermione brightened at the prospect of continuing their training over the holiday. "That would be great Harry. When can we use it?"

"Since there aren't any Order members here you can use it whenever you like. If you don't mind, I would like to be there the first couple of times you two train, just to see what you're doing and see if I can help at all" Sirius said.

Harry nodded and Hermione thought of something that she had been wondering since she learned that this was an old pureblood house, "Sirius, is there a library here?"

"Of course. But I never use it and some of the books are dangerous, especially for muggleborns" seeing Hermione's confused look he explained. "Some of the books are very old and carry curses that would be harmful only to anyone who was not a descendant of a pureblood family. But I think I may be able to lift the curses. Why don't we go check?"

Hermione followed Sirius- Lupin and Harry came as well- past the tapestry and into a large room that she hadn't noticed before. The library was huge and filled with books on every magical subject imaginable. Looking around, she recognized some titles that were also in the library at Hogwarts, many of them were listed in the Restricted section, and Hermione was anxious to read them.

Sirius was looking around the library, shaking his head. "I'm not sure how to get the library to accept you. I guess I should ask my dear mother."

He shot a pleading look at Hermione who said quietly, "I can't tell you what I will be looking for, but I think it could help the Order."

Sirius' head slumped in defeat and Hermione followed him to Mrs. Black's portrait. Lupin and Harry went upstairs to start training.

"Mrs. Black," Hermione called politely.

The drapes opened to reveal the Black matriarch. "What do you want?" she sneered at Sirius.

"I need to know how to make the library accept Hermione" he said with a sigh of defeat. Mrs. Black smiled and said, "Leave us, I'll tell Ms. Granger what to do."

Sirius gladly left the two women and went upstairs to join Harry and Lupin in the training room.

"What do you need the library for?" Mrs. Black asked once she heard Sirius on the second floor.

"I'm looking for information on Horcruxes" Hermione decided that honesty was best with the tough woman.

Mrs. Black sucked in a breath, "You don't know what you're dealing with child"

Hermione snorted, "Which is why I need the library. I see I'm correct in assuming that it has information on them. I also need it for other things, but that is my main reason."

Mrs. Black looked at the girl for a minute before nodding, "Very well. Kreacher!" she called.

The house elf appeared next to Hermione, "Yes Mistress?"

"Bring me the Keys to the Wards"

"Yes Mistress" Kreacher left and returned in less than half a minute with a role of parchment.

"Ms Granger, on that sheet you will find a list of the wards that surround this house. Locate the ones on the library and sign your name in blood next to the one that repels muggleborns."

Hermione searched the paper and found that the Black House was protected with more wards than she had anticipated. She located the ones for the library and summoned a new quill from her room. She used the tip to cut her finger and signed the paper.

Looking at Mrs. Black she asked, "Is there a copy of this in the library?"

"Of course," she answered primly.

"And I have full access to any and all books, papers, and objects in the library now, right?"

Mrs. Black smiled at that, "You are a true Slytherin. Yes, signing that paper in blood allows you full access to anything in the library."

Hermione gave her a small smile and decided that she would go train now. She had all holiday to look at the books in the library, and she was willing to bet that Sirius wouldn't mind if she borrowed some books and brought them back to school.

She walked in to see Harry practicing a spell on a dummy, trying to increase his accuracy. Hermione gave herself a mental pat on the back for suggesting to Harry that he have Madam Pomfrey fix his eyes. Lupin had agreed and her friend had been glasses free for almost a year.

She and Harry passed the time quickly, practicing their spellwork for school and then holding a mock duel between themselves. Sirius and Lupin, impressed with their skills and determination, had left them to their own devices. They continued until Kreacher popped in and informed them that Sirius told him to see that they went to bed.

They walked to their rooms, tired from their efforts, but pleased with the progress they were making. Hermione bid Harry and Kreacher goodnight, earning a confused look from the ancient house elf, and walked into her room.

She changed into her night clothes, but didn't sleep. She hadn't told anyone, but she had been having trouble sleeping for a while now. She would sleep three or four hours and wake up refreshed. She didn't know why, but as long as she wasn't tired and there weren't any visible side effects she wouldn't worry about it.

She opened her notebook and curled on her bed with the album of Daily Prophet clippings, perusing the articles for any details she might have missed.

Hermione awoke at 3:00 in the morning and decided to head down to the library to begin looking for books about Horcruxes. She had suspected that Voldemort was using them to ensure his immortality, but there had only been a sentence on them in the Hogwarts library. In two separate books, the general idea behind making a Horcrux and its purpose was outlined, but it never gave a name, making it very hard to make the connection.

Hermione found her connection by chance when she was reading about unicorn blood. It mentioned the ability to postpone death but only at a severe cost, and the author had likened the idea to a Horcrux, but made no further mention of it. From there she was able to piece together that Horcruxes used extremely dark and powerful magic to channel a person's soul into something else, so that the person may live even if their body is destroyed.

Sorting through several dozen books, Hermione decided to make piles dedicated to specific topics that she intended to research. The first pile, which she kept in the back of the library, was dedicated to Horcruxes. There was a stack next to that with books on dark magic that she thought would be useful.

In a separate stack were books that traced the lines of the old pureblood families and several books dedicated to the history of the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding world. One of those books toppled the pile over and Hermione glanced at a family tree that the book had opened to.

It was opened to a tree that traced the descendants of Godric Gryffindor. She studied it a moment longer before curiosity made her turn the page. The next page traced Salazar Slytherin's descendants. With a gasp, she noticed the name at the bottom of the page- _Tom Marvolo Riddle. _

_Voldemort is the last descendant of Salazar Slytherin? How can that be? According to this, he's a half blood- his dad is a Muggle. I wonder what happened. _

Hermione looked at Tom's mother's line- tracing it to the Gaunt line- and searched through the book for more information on them. Finding nothing, she went back to the family tree and noticed the dates of birth and death of each member of the Gaunt family.

Tom's mother, Merope, died the day Tom was born. Tom's grandfather, Marvolo, was dead as well. But what really caught her attention was the fact that Tom's father, Tom Riddle Sr. and his parents were killed on the same day. At first she was surprised that a book on pureblood lines kept records of Muggles, but she saw that the Black family tree was intact and decided that the book was meant to keep a complete record and did not differentiate between blood statuses.

Hermione opened her notebook to the section on Voldemort and carefully copied the family tree, and was making a note that he was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin when a thought struck her.

_Basilisks can be controlled by someone who speaks Parseltongue. Slytherin has been well noted to have been a Parselmouth- it's how I made the connection between the Basilisk and the monster in the Chamber. But what if that trait was passed to his descendants- like Voldemort? Maybe my lie to the Headmaster wasn't so far off. Maybe he really is attacking the school from the inside. The next question is how he got into the school. _

Hermione wrote her thoughts down under the heading: Research More. She carefully stacked the books again and moved over to the Horcrux pile in the back of the room. She opened the first book and started taking notes. She got through one book and half of another one when Harry walked into the library.

"Hey Hermione?" he called.

Hermione walked around the stack, leaving her closed notebook on top of the book that she was currently reading.

"Hey Harry" she said, seeing her friend and smiling at his particularly bad case of bed head.

Harry self consciously tried to flatten his hair before remembering that it was a lost cause and shrugging, "Breakfast is ready."

During breakfast Hermione and Harry decided that they would dedicate the day to homework in order to get it out of the way. They pulled out their textbooks and quills and set up in the living room, each taking one of the large armchairs and dragging a book over with them.

Hermione started with her Potions essay since she knew it would be the easiest for her. She hardly had to look at her text book for help as she answered the questions set by Professor Snape.

Lupin walked into the living room and stopped in surprise- here were two second years, home early for the holidays, _voluntarily _doing their homework weeks before it was due. He backed out quietly so as not to disturb them from their work and went to find Sirius.

Harry snapped his book shut with a groan, "I hate History of Magic! Professor Binns isn't even going to read these! Why bother?"

Sirius, alerted to their break by the sound of the book snapping shut, walked into the room with a plate of sandwiches, "For the pure joy of learning something new, Harry. You should want to do your school work because you are a tiny bookworm who will never grow taller."

Harry threw a pillow towards his godfather, who ducked and laughed, only to get a pillow in the face which Harry had magicked to fly at him. Mrs. Black, who had seen it from her portrait, laughed, "That's why he's in Slytherin. Hahaha. Good boy"

Sirius growled, "Shut up before I make your curtains stick shut permanently."

Harry just laughed and reached for a sandwich. Hermione, too, reached for a sandwich, and ate it slowly as she added the finishing touches to her Charms essay.

"Alright, that's enough work for today, you two need some exercise. So let's go to the training room and I'll put you through a work out" he grinned maniacally, "Especially you, young Harry. I will show you what happens when you throw a pillow at me."

Harry mock groaned and then ran up the stairs, happy to be done his work for the day. Hermione stood slowly, shaking out her limbs, and placed her books carefully on the table. She took the stairs slowly and called, "Good day to you, Mrs. Black."

The portrait was surprised for a moment before she returned the girl's greeting. _That girl may just prove me wrong_ she thought amusedly.

Sirius was already drilling Harry in a series of drills meant to improve reflexes. Hermione jumped in, knowing that as good as she was with spells it was better to be prepared. They continued these drills for half an hour, then Sirius clapped his hands and an array of large blocks appeared.

Sirius told them to put their wands on the table in the front of the room and to enter the maze like room. "I will have my wand and will be aiming to hit you. If I do, a colored dot will appear where the spell hit. Your goal is to not get hit, and to use your skills to dodge my attacks. Go!"

Harry sprinted off to the left while Hermione ran straight to the back of the room. The first thing she did was track down Harry, who almost gave them away. They decided that they would use a series of snaps, different each time, to let them know when they were close to each other.

They split up after that and Hermione was glad that they had made a code, since it helped them evade Sirius for a while. Eventually he waited them out and located them by their snaps. He shot a spell at Harry, who deftly rolled out of the way, and looked for Hermione.

Not seeing her brown hair, he concentrated on Harry, shooting spells at him at a fast pace, forcing him to move faster. He saw an opening and was about to hit Harry when a movement in the corner of his eye halted him.

Hermione came out from behind a block to distract him, and was forced to duck when Sirius sent a spell at her head. Harry recovered when Sirius' attention switched to Hermione, and he launched himself at his godfather's back.

Sirius laughed and grabbed Harry, holding him upside down. "That was good, you two. I didn't pick up on your code for a while and it helped you avoid me. But it also helped me find you when I did understand that it was a code. Make sure you're careful about that. Let's try it again."

They passed the next day in the same manner. Hermione woke well before anyone else and went to the library to continue her research until Harry found her for breakfast. They used the time from after breakfast until mid afternoon for the rest of their homework, and then went to the training room to practice.

Hermione was very comfortable in this routine; Sirius and Lupin hadn't bothered her about her research, and she was pleased to see that they didn't interfere too much in her daily activities. She was unused to having adult supervision in a setting outside of school and it would take time for her to adjust.

On the fourth day of her holiday break she awoke at her usual time and walked through the kitchen towards the library when she saw Lupin sitting in a chair with a cup of tea.

"Good morning" he greeted her.

She was silent; surprised that he was awake and sitting in the kitchen this early.

He seemed to understand, "My transformation is tomorrow night, I usually get restless and grouchy a day or two before the full moon."

Hermione nodded, "So what does the Wolfsbane Potion that Professor Snape made do?"

"It helps me keep my mind during my transformations. Severus supplied me with two more gobletfuls the other day, one of which I took yesterday, I will take another today and the final one tomorrow afternoon. After I transform I will keep control of my mind, so that the wolf in me will not attempt to bite anyone should something happen.

"And before I forget, the Weasley's are coming in two days; Ron was revived late last night, and they will be spending some time with us for the holiday."

Hermione nodded and excused herself, walking into the library and opening her notebook to the section on Horcruxes. She passed the time quickly, learning more about the dark objects than she cared to admit.

She had learned to time Harry's arrival, so today she closed her notebook and placed it aside, walking into the kitchen and sitting down at the table where they took breakfast. Harry came down the stairs not five minutes later.

"Did you hear that Ron's ok? And the Weasley's, well not all of them, are coming in two days?" Harry practically bounced with enthusiasm, and Hermione hid a grin.

"How many Weasley's are there?"

"Well, there's Bill and Charlie- they've already graduated. Bill is a curse-breaker for Gringotts, Charlie works with dragons in Romania. Percy is a sixth year, Fred and George are fourth years, Ron you've met, and Ginny started this year. Then there's Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They're brilliant! The whole family is, actually."

Harry continued to talk about the Weasley's throughout breakfast, and Hermione was almost looking forward to having the Weasley's here because it meant someone else that Harry could talk to. She knew she wasn't the best companion, so having Ron here would at least make Harry happy.

Hermione spent most of the day in the library, researching, until Harry dragged her out. "It's not healthy to sit in a dusty old library all day. Let's have a practice duel."

Hermione consented, and they spent the rest of the day competing in several mock duels.

Lupin said his goodbye at dinner and went to a safehouse with tomorrow's Wolfsbane in preparation for his coming transformation. Hermione noticed Sirius' eyes change briefly to anger when Lupin tiredly stood and walked to the Floo powder, but he said nothing.

The next day was quiet, and since Sirius spent most of the day in the training room, "I need to keep in shape," she and Harry went to the library.

"Hey Hermione, what do you do in the library? What are you reading that takes up so much of your time?"

Hermione carefully regarded her green eyed friend. She decided to give him a basic outline and see how he reacted, "I've been looking for information about Voldemort and the war. I'm trying to find out all I can so that I…so that the Order can finally end the war."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, so she tried another approach, "It's top secret?"

Harry sighed, "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I just thought I might be able to help." He turned to walk out of the room.

"Harry, wait" Hermione bit her lip, trying to make a fast decision. "The Order doesn't really know what I'm doing and I don't want any of them to find out. They might try to stop me."

Seeing Harry's look she quickly added, "It's not anything illegal, per say, but I am looking into what some people would consider Dark magic."

Harry choked, "You're learning about Dark magic? No wonder you don't want the Order to know. What are you thinking?"

_This is why I haven't told anyone, genius. They would all react like you. Magic isn't split down the middle into good and evil. It's all in how the spell is intended. _

"Harry, I'm not reading about Dark magic to learn it and use it for myself. I'm learning about it to increase my understanding of the magic and spells that Voldemort and his Death Eaters use so that I will be able to counter it in the future. I'm basically studying their moves so that I can plan better. And I haven't told anyone because they would react just like you."

Harry grinned sheepishly, "Well, when you put it like that."

They were interrupted by as shout from Sirius, "Harry? Do you want to work on your Occlumency?"

"Sure, Sirius. I'll be right there" He walked to the door frame and turned around to face Hermione. "Maybe when I can shield my thoughts completely you'll trust me more."

With that he turned and walked out of the library.

_Ugh! It's not a matter of trust. Well, yea it is. But it's not only a matter of trust. I know I'm alone in this. And once I find out more about the prophecy I'll know just how alone I am. I certainly don't want to involve Harry, Draco, or anyone anymore than they're already involved. I have to do this on my own._

Hermione spent the next four hours taking notes on various Dark spells and the countercurses or recommended healing spells for them.

Instead of dueling after dinner, Hermione decided to follow Harry's example and take a couple of hours to reorganize her mind and reevaluate her Occlumency shields.

She found few problems with the idea of shutting her mind off from others; how different could it be from shutting off one's emotions or even oneself from the world, as she had learned to do as a child.

The main problem she faced was in the organization of her mind itself. Her mind was blocked by several layers: the first two were walls, basic but strong, that were meant to deter the weaker Legilimens, after that she had two streams of memories. The first was from her time at Hogwarts- they were innocent memories: of classrooms, times in her dorm, with her friends. In short, there was nothing of importance. Behind that was a separate stream of memories, flowing in the opposite direction of the first, in order to confuse or stop anyone who made it that far.

Beyond that she had changed her mindscape and was unsure of how to organize it. For now it was no longer Diagon Alley as it was in her first year. At the moment it was fashioned after the library in the Black house and was somewhat orderly. Her final retreat, which was hidden in the back of the library behind a statue that was set with a password, was a flight of stairs that led to a recreation of the basement of her house.

It was there that Hermione kept her most dangerous secrets, and her most important thoughts. The room was pitch-black and barren. Most would think they had come upon an empty and meaningless room. But each brick in the wall held a memory that Hermione kept under close guard. Certain bricks, known only to Hermione, were booby trapped to add another measure of protection.

Hermione sighed; she still didn't know how to organize her mindscape. She tiredly rubbed her eyes and opened to her bookmark in the Daily Prophet album.

When Hermione woke the next morning she was surprised to hear voices downstairs. She knew that Lupin wouldn't return until lunchtime, and that Harry and Sirius usually slept until nine o'clock. She glanced at the clock that Harry had lent her, it read six forty.

She held her wand at the ready as she made her way quietly down the stairs; she paused on the last step, listening to the voices,

"Sorry we had to come so early, Sirius. Albus thought it would be safer to come in the early morning-"

"Please, Molly, it's not a problem. You know that you're welcome here any time. Maybe the kids want to settle into their rooms and catch a couple hours more sleep?"

"Hey Sirius, is Harry awake yet?"

Hermione recognized Ron's voice and remembered belatedly that the Weasley's were coming over today. She made her way back up the stairs to change, placing her wand in her robes, and made her way back downstairs.

She walked into the kitchen quietly, trying not to draw any attention to herself, but she suddenly found her way blocked by the twins.

"Oi Sirius-

"You didn't mention-

"That ickle Harry-

"Has a girlfriend!"

The twins laughed at their joke and then glanced at Hermione, each taking one hand and shaking it enthusiastically.

One twin pointed to himself, "I'm Fred, and that's George"

"Really, now, boys. Leave the poor girl alone. I'm surprised she's up this early at all."

Hermione turned to look at the woman who spoke. "Hello, dear. I'm Molly Weasley" she went to gather Hermione into a hug but Hermione flinched back, looking at the Weasley matron warily. "Well, anyway, that's Percy-" the eldest boy gave her a small smile, "Fred and George, Ron, I'm sure you know them from school. And that's Ginny" she pointed to the young redhead sitting at the table. "She's in her first year now. She's so excited that there's another girl at Headquarters now."

Mrs. Weasley continued to talk about how excited they were that there was finally a girl in the Weasley family, but Hermione had tuned her out by then. _Oh no. I'm the only other girl here. Ginny will stick to me like glue, and Mrs. Weasley will expect me to entertain her. What will I do?_

Luckily for her, Harry chose that moment to stumble into the kitchen, yawning. "Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley ran over to pick him up in a hug that looked to be making up for the one that Hermione backed out of. "Hi Mrs. Weasley" Harry managed to breath out.

She let him down as her kids came over to say hello and Hermione used that distraction to disappear into the library.

Mrs. Weasley noticed that Hermione was missing after a few moments and walked over to Sirius.

"Where did Hermione go?"

"Probably into the library, she's in there most of the day" he said casually.

"What does she do in there, all alone?" Mrs. Weasley sounded concerned.

"Read, I suppose" Sirius shrugged.

"It's not good for her to be that closed off. Did you see her back away when I tried to give her a hug? Did something happen?"

Sirius closed his eyes for a moment and said quietly, "Not now" then he said louder, "Harry, why don't you help the Weasley's get their bags upstairs?"

With the kids upstairs, Sirius turned toward Molly, "What do you know about Hermoine?"

She looked confused, "Just what Ron told me. That she's a Muggleborn in Slytherin- the first one ever. She's incredibly bright and very good with magic."

Sirius looked at her carefully, "That's not all. But this is an Order secret. I know that you know not to tell anyone but this is different. You can't tell anyone- not even Arthur."

Molly's eye widened but she nodded her head.

"Ok, well, you remember the prophecy that we managed to get, the one about the war, and the child who would vanquish the darkness?" He paused to gauge her reaction. "Well Hermione is the child of the prophecy."

"Oh my word" Molly's hand flew to her mouth. "The poor dear."

Sirius nodded and decided not to voice his suspicions that Hermione was keeping something from them, something about her home life. He had a hunch that Harry knew, but he didn't want to press them for anything, hoping that she would come to him, or someone, when she was ready.

Sirius spent the next ten minutes assuring Mrs. Weasley that Hermione was a capable and extremely talented young witch who would not break under the pressure that had been forced upon her.

Mrs. Weasley wasn't buying it though. "Ginny" she called. She walked dutifully into the kitchen.

"Ginny, Hermione is all alone in the library, why don't you go see if she wants to play wizards chess?"

"Ok mum" Ginny said quietly.

Mrs. Weasley sighed quietly as her daughter left the room. She was the quietest of the family, besides Percy, and Molly worried at how shy her daughter was. _She could be such a fierce witch, if only someone would give her the confidence. _

Ginny walked quietly into the library. She had only seen Hermione at meals during the year, since they were in different years and had no classes together. But the fact that Hermione was in the library alone made Ginny like the girl already.

Ginny had never been as loud, or brave, or funny, or smart as her brothers. People were always telling her that she was the only girl born for generations of Weasleys and she felt that everyone was expecting a lot from her; as though being a girl already set her apart and raised the standards.

She had a special relationship with each of her brothers; they each pulled out a different side of her and she loved them all. She just felt overshadowed by them. Even the twins; they might be pranksters, but they were brilliant.

Ginny didn't really get along well with the girls in Gryffindor. The girls she bunked with were noisy and gossipy, and Ginny often preferred the quiet of the library to the Common room.

So as she walked into the library, she fostered a hope that maybe Hermione would be her friend. She found Hermione with a notebook in her lap, head bent over a book, and scribbling notes furiously.

"Hi" she said quietly.

Hermione looked up, surprised to see Ginny standing there. "Hello" she said just as quietly.

"Mum wanted me to see if you wanted to play wizards chess, but you look like you're busy so I'll just go" Ginny quickly said, afraid of bothering the Slytherin.

"It's not a problem. You can stay if you want" Ginny looked at the girl hopefully as she sat down.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked after a moment of silence had passed.

"I'm reading about Dark magic" Hermione said bluntly, trying to see how the first year would react.

"That's so cool! Is it for the war?" Ginny asked excitedly.

Hermione gave her a smile, happy that Ginny had the sense to try to understand something before passing judgment.

"Yea it is. But no one else except Harry knows about it. Can you keep it a secret? I don't think that the Order members would be happy if they knew what I was reading about."

"You want me to keep your secret?" Ginny reached over to hug the bemused girl. "Thank you, thank you! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"

Ginny sat back down, beaming. Hermione was extremely confused but remained silent.

"Hey Ginny, just in case someone were to find out, I don't want you to get in trouble for this too. So for now I don't want you reading some of these books, ok?"

Ginny nodded, although she was kind of hurt that she wouldn't be able to help Hermione.

"Do you have any homework for your classes?" Hermione saw that Ginny looked upset. "Cuz you can do that here while I read and I can help you if you need it."

Ginny got up smiling and raced out of the room to get her homework.

Hermione watched her leave, _It might be good to have someone in the Order that I can confide in. I can tell that she doesn't have many friends, so I want to make sure she knows that she can trust me. But I don't want to manipulate her. In all honesty, I want a girl that I can talk to. _

Meanwhile, Molly Weasley was in the kitchen, watching in amusement as her daughter raced around the house.

"Ginny, what are you doing?"

"Hermione's gonna let me stay in the library and help me with my homework" she called as she ran upstairs to find her school books.

_Well, that's not what I meant when I told Ginny to go stay with Hermione, but if it means they're socializing with each other, then I guess it will do for now. And I've never seen her so eager to do homework._

Hermione passed the rest of the day in the library with Ginny. She learned that Ginny was extremely good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Transfiguration, but was terrible at History of Magic and Potions. The rest of her subjects she varied between passable and good, so Hermione helped Ginny the most on those two subjects.

To Hermione's delight, she found that it was easy to be around Ginny. She was quiet, but she had her own sense of humor that Hermione found she enjoyed. Ginny was also a quick learner, it was just a matter of finding the right way to teach her. Ginny couldn't learn from the boring lectures that Professor Binns gave, so Hermione gave her some activities to do while she reiterated the important facts.

Hermione was able to help Ginny in Potions as well, although she suspected that Ginny would need more help over the year. Her main problem was that she was unsure of herself, which made her cuts sloppy and kept her from trying different variations of the potions. The redhead understood the different ingredients, and what each did, well enough, so that she had a foundation to build on.

Dinner that night was louder than Hermione had anticipated. Although she was used to the noise in the Great Hall, all of her meals at Grimmauld Place had been relatively quiet, so that the noise almost made her flinch throughout the meal.

Lupin had returned only two hours before dinner, looking pale and tired, but he was his old cheerful self when addressed and tried to hide how uncomfortable he was.

Mrs. Weasley had cooked a big meal, and Hermione wasn't surprised to see that most of it was gone by the end of the meal; if there was one thing she had learned from dinners at Hogwarts, it was that boys ate a lot.

After dinner, all of the boys went to the training room. Hermione was surprised to see that Percy even followed them; she had pegged him as a bookworm.

She decided to go and watch, but she didn't want to practice with that many people there.

So she watched as Harry and Ron dueled, and as Fred and George practiced several offensive spells on a dummy. She saw that Percy was practicing on a dummy as well, but he had charmed the dummy to throw offensive hexes at him, forcing him to use defensive spells.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ginny watching her and decided to talk to her.

"Aren't you going to practice, Ginny?"

"No, I'm not that good anyway" she said, looking at her feet.

"I bet you are, but if you don't want to practice, then do you want me to teach you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Ginny looked up.

"This is another secret, ok?" Seeing her nod, Hermione continued. "I'm going to teach you Occlumency. When you get really good at it, you can help me take notes on those books in the library."

"Isn't Occlumency really hard? I overheard mum and dad talking about how hard is was for them to learn it and Professor Dumbledore taught them, although dad says that Professor Snape is the best Occlumens ever."

_Maybe I should ask him for advice about organizing my mindscape. He'll be here for the Order meeting, after all. _

"Ok, the first thing I'll teach you is to clear your mind. We're going to meditate."

Two hours later and Ginny was making a lot of progress. And teaching Ginny Occlumency allowed Hermione the chance to work on her own Legilimency. Unfortunately, Mrs. Weasley came in half an hour later and shooed them all to bed.

Hermione, not sleepy at all, snuck back into the training room and put up several silencing spells. She was able to practice some of her more advanced spells, which she was wary to do with anyone else around, and it let her try some of the lesser Dark spells that she had read about.

Hermione was no fool; she knew that one didn't just dabble in Dark magic. Once tempted, a witch or wizard was tainted for life. There was no such thing as "just one Dark spell." Although it wasn't necessarily a bad thing to be well versed in Dark and Light magic.

_Knowledge is knowledge. It's all in how that knowledge is used that defines it. It's all about the intent. That's what no one understands. A spell itself isn't Dark until it's used for dark purposes. Just like a Light spell in itself isn't Light until it's used for the light. _

Shaking her head to clear it of thoughts, Hermione withdrew into her own mind to try her hand at nonverbal spells. She started out small, but found that it was extremely tiring and the effect that the spell had wasn't worth the effort. _For now, I'm dependant on my wand. _

Hermione crept silently back to her room, lifting the silencing spells, and fell onto her bed with a Potions book.

As the days passed, Hermione found herself avoiding Mrs. Weasley more and more. It was bad enough that she forced everyone to clean the house when it was plenty clean, but the woman kept trying to be a mother to Hermione.

Every time she saw the girl she would pat her head, or pull her into an embrace, and Hermione had to force herself not to flinch or run away. She didn't know why the woman was acting the way she was until Ginny said something.

"Well, mum was really sad when she learned that your mum died. I'm her only daughter, and I think she's come to view you as a surrogate daughter."

"But I've only known her for a couple of days."

"But you were the one who found Ron and told Madam Pomfrey that he was Petrified. You saved mum a heart attack since Pomfrey wouldn't have known what was wrong or how to fix it. I think she's trying to show her thanks by mothering you to death."

Hermione thought about that. She didn't really remember her mom, but the few memories she did were happy. She remembered that her mum smiled a lot, and smelled like flowers. Even as distant as those memories were, and how awful most of her memories after her mum's death were, she didn't want a replacement.

_Because there's nothing to replace. _She thought bitterly. _I've done fine on my own, I don't need anyone's pity now. _

The days before the Order meeting were quieter, as Hermione had heard Mrs. Weasley threaten the twins with horrible chores without magic if they were caught pulling pranks during the meeting.

But as Hermione walked upstairs she heard one twin mutter, "She has to catch us, though."

Hermione decided that tomorrow, the day of the Order meeting, she would ask Professor Snape about Occlumency, and she would talk to Dumbledore and try to get some answers about the prophecy from him.

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Ok, not the best ending, and a boring chapter I guess but I wanted to end it here. And yes, I know that Ginny is OOC and I guess Mrs. Weasley kind of is too, and Mrs. Black definitely is, but I will be changing some stuff about each character so deal with it :-)

I'll be gone for most of July so I wanted to give you guys this chapter now in case I couldn't upload more before I leave.

I'll try to get the next chapter- a short one that will cover the Order meeting, Christmas, the return to Hogwarts, and a month or two back at school- up as soon as possible, hopefully before I leave, but I wanted to add at least one chapter to each of my stories before leaving.

Thanks for sticking with the story!

Always,

Sinkme


	9. Revelations and Reasons

Chapter 8

Maintanence:

_Thought_

"Normal speaking"

_"Spell"_

_Nonverbal Spell_

_"Parseltounge"_

Disclaimer: Not mine

Yay for reviewers! Sylphides, Sofia7, Harry-Hermione Potter, Lysjknopp, Stashthesocks, Padslet, Kymie29, Fire Daughter, potterhead0013, XxXxJackBlackxXxX, Darkness-Lightness, pstibbons, digio, camya (anon), Diespedes, notwritten, and missevilprincess.

This will be short in comparison to the others- it will cover the Order meeting, Christmas, the return to Hogwarts, and a month or two back at school.

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Hermione woke up on the morning of the Order meeting and decided to go to the training room before everyone woke up. She tiptoed out and cast a few silencing charms on the room before entering.

As much as she had enjoyed training with Harry she would much rather practice alone. It allowed her to use any spell she knew without fear that someone would recognize it as too powerful or Dark.

She had brought her clock from her room so that at eight o'clock she could sneak back to her room without anyone knowing, but what she didn't know was that Ginny had awoken at seven thirty, and had went to Hermione's room to find the older girl.

When she saw that her friend was missing, she checked the library and kitchen before returning upstairs to check the training room. When she opened the door she had to choke back a gasp at what she saw.

Hermione had charmed several dummies to shoot spells at her, effectively making it a four on one duel. Ginny briefly wondered what her friend was thinking, but that thought was abandoned as she saw Hermione duel.

She was graceful, fast, and dead accurate with her spells. Ginny could tell that Hermione was trying to avoid the spells, instead of reflect or block them, and that she was choosing her spells and targets carefully.

Suddenly Hermione uttered a curse that caused one of the dummies to explode. Ginny watched it, wide eyed, before closing the door and running back to her room.

_Hermione's incredible. I wonder why she never duels any of my brothers, she could easily beat them. I bet she only thinks of me as a weak little girl. I'll never be as good as her. _

Ginny made her way downstairs some time later to see her mum and Sirius already in the kitchen. Hearing Hermione's name, she pressed herself against the wall and listened.

"…needs to interact more with the kids. It's not normal for a twelve year old to spend all of her time in a library."

"Ginny seems fine with it. Honestly, Molly, leave the girl alone. She's had a hard life. Just give her some time to open up."

"You know something. Sirius, what happened?"

"I don't know, I suspect. And I will keep my peace until my suspicions are confirmed or denied. Even then, I wouldn't dare say anything without Hermione's permission" he gave Molly a hard look. "Some things are best left in the past. I can only ask that you don't badger her. It's hard enough on the girl knowing that she's the child that the prophecy refers to, but Dumbledore made Remus and I swear that we wouldn't even mention the prophecy around her. It is undoubtedly frustrating her."

Ginny was rooted to the spot in surprise, _The prophecy? As in the one that dad mentioned a while ago to mum? The one where a child will be born that will have to destroy Voldemort? Oh, Hermione, now I understand._

She heard the whoosh of the Floo, and quickly walked up a couple of stairs, only to walk back down noisily.

"Morning mum. Morning Sirius." She said, trying to keep calm, but wondering all the time about her friend.

"Molly, Black, Miss Weasley" a man in black said as he swooped past them to get some tea.

"Severus!" Molly went over to the spy, looking him over with a critical eye. "Are you alright? We've had no word from you in two days!"

Unnoticed, Hermione had slipped into the room and taken a seat next to Ginny, watching the adults with a keen eye.

"I was- detained" Snape said, giving Molly and Sirius a significant look.

"Of course you were. Those potions aren't going to make themselves" Sirius said a little too loud. "So, Ginny, what can I-"

Sirius jumped a little when he turned to look at Ginny and saw Hermione sitting there as well.

"Oh, good morning, Hermione. I didn't even hear you come in" Sirius said, still slightly shaken.

Molly gave her a warm hello but stayed where she was, for that Hermione was grateful. Snape nodded his greeting, to which Hermione returned a small smile.

Kreacher came an announced that a large breakfast buffet had been set up, since Order members would be coming in at various times during the day, so Hermione followed Ginny out of the room to get breakfast.

As soon as they walked out of the room, Hermione plastered herself to the wall, trying to overhear the adults, just as Ginny had done minutes earlier- she waved Ginny on, and the girl decided to start making a plate of food for Hermione as well.

Sirius was the first to speak, "Severus, are you really alright? Albus and Minerva have been worried sick. Not to say that we're all not worried-"

"I understand" the Potions Master smoothly interrupted. "The Dark Lord is planning something. I think it's connected to the Chamber being opened, but I cannot ask. He's also adamant about capturing Miss Granger."

"Wait, capture?" Sirius sounded surprised. "What changed? The last I heard he wanted her out of the way."

"I have no idea, Black. But something happened and he wants to have the chance to talk with her. Face to face. For that he's planning something, but he's keeping it oddly quiet."

There was a pause and the voices turned quieter, so that Hermione only heard scattered parts.

"…Lucius won't be here"

"should suggest extra security…"

"goodness for Mandrakes-"

Hermione quietly turned and walked into the dining room, happy to see that Ginny had made her a plate of food, although it was more than she would eat.

Snape walked into the room suddenly and looked at Hermione shrewdly, "I know you were listening, Miss Granger."

She kept her face and voice neutral, "I'm sorry, Professor, I don't know what you're talking about. I was in here with Ginny, getting breakfast." She held up her plate, silently thanking Ginny.

Snape was silent for a moment, and Hermione thought she saw a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, but it was quickly replaced by a scowl.

"It's a good thing you're in Slytherin Miss Granger. Your talents would have been wasted in any other House."

He pulled a small parcel out of his robes, handing it to the girl. "This is from Draco, who apologizes for not giving it to you on the train."

He quickly walked out of the room, not giving Hermione a chance to say anything.

Hermione banished the small parcel to her room and then turned to Ginny with a smile, "You should be in Slytherin! You just saved my alibi."

Ginny blushed, "I wasn't thinking about that. I just thought I should start getting you food while you were busy."

"Well, regardless, I owe you one."

"You don't have to-"

"No, Ginny. That's fair. You helped me, I'll help you" she flashed another smile. "That's what friends do, right?"

Hermione went in search of Snape after breakfast, only to find that he had left. "Sirius, do you know where Professor Snape went?"

"He had to check on a- uh-potion at Hogwarts. He'll be here for the meeting."

Hermione snorted as she walked into the library. _Sirius has no subtlety. _

Hermione was surprised to see a redhead in the library. She knew Ginny was with her mum, cleaning out some of the rooms for Order members, so she wondered who would be in the library. _It has to be Percy; he's the only one who would be in here. _

Said Weasley noticed that he wasn't alone and turned to see who had entered. "Hi, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Percy" he held out his hand.

"Hermione" she said as she lightly shook his hand.

"So what are you up to?" Percy asked as Hermione picked up a book from one of the shelves.

"Just reading. You?" Hermione had picked a book on Charms; she didn't want anyone else to know what she was really reading, and it had been a while since she had read anything on the subject.

"My brothers played a prank on me so my desk kept shaking every time I sat down to read on it. Then they charmed the pillows to constantly hit me in the head. So I decided to read down here." He held up his sixth year textbook on transfiguration.

Hermione decided not to get her notebook out; it meant he would ask her fewer questions that she didn't want to answer.

Percy got up when they heard voices from the kitchen. "I'm going to go see who's arrived. Do you need anything?"

Hermione shook her head and Percy walked out into the kitchen. She liked that Percy was easy to be around. He didn't need to talk just to fill the silence.

She stood, stretched, and wondered if she should go and meet whoever came. Her thoughts were cut short when Ginny and Harry ran in.

"Come on!" Ginny said as Harry pulled on Hermione's arm.

"You've got to come meet the Order members. A couple are here now and the rest will be here soon. You're not going to hide in the library all day" Harry proclaimed as he dragged her into the kitchen.

She met Mr. Weasley first, who wanted to talk to her about Muggle inventions, then she was pulled away to meet Bill and Charlie, the Weasley's oldest sons. She remembered something about Bill being a curse breaker and wanted to ask him some questions, but Ginny pulled her over to meet a young witch with pink hair.

"This is Tonks" Ginny said excitedly. "She and Charlie are the youngest Order members so far. Tonks is going to be an Auror."

Hermione looked at the witch in front of her with a new respect; she had read about the training that Aurors go through and she knew it was extremely difficult. Tonks must be a talented witch.

"Who's your Auror trainer?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Actually, I'll be trained by two. Mad-eye was my buddy throughout my first year and will be my buddy again for the rest of this year and next year, until I pass the test. Once I'm an Auror, I partner with an experienced Auror until he thinks I have enough experience to stop being watched over like a chick. Kingsley already said he would sponsor me after I make Auror, since he's in the Order too."

Hermione shook Ginny off and talked to Tonks for a while about her Auror training and what it entailed. Tonks, for her part, was excited that Hermione was there and obviously eager to play a larger role in the war. She introduced the girl to Moody, who was surprised to see that Hermione didn't react to his appearance as most people did.

The three of them talked for a while about certain curses and countercurses, and Moody found himself impressed with this second year that understood and was able to effectively argue her insistence that using a Full Body Bind on someone suffering from the Cruciatus curse only made it worse for the victim.

Tonks, too, was impressed, but also a bit wary, _How does a Muggleborn second year know so much. It's obvious that she's brilliant. But it's a little scary to see someone so young with so much knowledge. _

Moody, however, appeared to have no misgivings and continued to talk to Hermione until Ginny pulled her away to introduce her to other members.

"This is Kingsley Shacklebolt, he's an Auror."

"Hi Mr. Shacklebolt" Hermione said as she shook the large wizard's hand.

"Please, just Kingsley" he said in a deep voice.

By now it was lunch and the buffet had changed to accommodate the new meal and people.

Hermione had a hard time keeping everyone straight in her head; Ginny had continued to introduce her to the Order members throughout the next two hours. She met the parents of several of her classmates; Alianne Summers' parents were there, showing off their Gryffindor pride with their scarves. Katie Kirby's parents were there as well, passing on Katie's holiday greeting to the second year. Neville Longbottom's grandmother sought her out, saying how much she and Neville appreciated her help with his Transfiguration work.

There were several names that Hermione heard that she knew from the Ministry of Magic; Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office, Amelia Bones, Head of the Magical Law Enforcement, Broderick Bode, an Unspeakable, and several other Aurors were all there.

Hermione was impressed, _All these people here seem like they're more than capable of fighting in this war. This is indeed a powerful organization. _

With the arrival of several Hogwarts teachers, and the Headmaster himself, everyone seemed to gravitate towards the dining room. Now cleared of food, the table had been changed into a smaller round table, which was in the front of the room. There were dozens of chairs positioned haphazardly in the room, and the Order members began to find their seats. Dumbledore took the chair in the front of the room, facing the rest of the chairs.

Professor McGonagall, Sirius, Lupin, Kinglsey, Bill, and Snape- who had returned only moments earlier- took the chairs nearest to Dumbledore, but more off to the side.

Hermione surmised that they were either the higher ranking members of the Order, or they had information that would be shared during the meeting.

Bill began to pull out several papers, and Hermione thought she saw a map before Mr. and Mrs. Weasley herded them upstairs. Percy, while not officially an Order member, had been included in whatever protective charms the Order required, and so was allowed to stay for the meeting.

Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny were forced to go to the second floor, where Mrs. Weasley sternly told them that they would remain here until called. She warned them that Dumbledore had placed strong silencing charms around the room, but that if she caught them listening they would regret it for the rest of their young lives.

With that, she and her husband hurried to get to the meeting.

The boys went to the training room while Ginny followed Hermione to her room.

Ginny sat down on the bed when Hermione realized that she had left her notebook downstairs.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"It's nothing. I left my notebook downstairs and I need it for something."

"Oh, well mum never said we couldn't go downstairs, just that we shouldn't eavesdrop."

"It's no problem, I can get it from here"

"Are you going to do a Summoning Charm?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"No, this is much more difficult than that. I promise to explain it to you if you swear to keep it a secret and stay quiet for a moment."

Ginny nodded, watching Hermione carefully and thinking that Hermione had more secrets then anyone she knew.

Hermione walked over to her desk and retrieved a pen knife that she had found in the desk. She cut into her palm and then pulled out her wand, holding it aloft, "Ego dico thee scelero quod veneficus" she intoned. (AN 1)

Hermione walked over to her door and opened it in time to catch the notebook that was levitating toward her.

"Whoa!" was all that Ginny could say. Hermione placed the notebook on the bed next to Ginny and used a small healing spell to close the cut on her palm, noticing the faint scar line that had formed.

"How'd you do that?"

Hermione sat on the bed next to Ginny, "it's blood magic. Very powerful and very dangerous. This notebook is one of the most important things I own. There are spells on it to make sure no one can read it or destroy it, but the spell that you just saw was made to bind the notebook to me. Using some of my blood, and that spell, I can call the book to me whenever I need it. It is also impervious to regular Summoning charms."

Ginny's mouth hung open. "I'm telling you this because I trust you, Ginny. I hope I don't have to remind you that this is a secret, and you can't tell anyone- not even your brothers or Harry."

Ginny's mouth closed. "Of course. I'm glad that you trust me and I would never betray your trust. Besides, that was brilliant!"

They spent the time talking about the Order members; Hermione asked as many questions as she could think of and Ginny answered as best she could, watching Hermione record the information in her notebook.

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As soon as Arthur and Molly returned the silencing wards were placed up and Dumbledore stood.

"We have made it another year, and I am thankful to each of you for the sacrifices you risk, especially in this holiday season. If I may request a moment of silence to remember those who were lost this year."

Everyone bowed their heads, remembering with sadness the friends that had been taken from them.

"Now, with the year almost at an end, I feel that Voldemort has a plan. As you have undoubtedly heard, several Hogwarts students were attacked recently. We had two students die, seven are missing, and Mr. Weasley was recently revived with a draught of Mandrakes. We have an idea of what is happening in the school, but we were not able to locate any of the missing students. Severus has been looking into the possibility of an attack on Hogwarts from the inside, so I will now give the floor to Severus."

Dumbledore sat as his Potions Master stood and gazed around the room.

"It has long been the Dark Lord's dream to conquer Hogwarts, and it has recently come to my attention from an anonymous source that the school might be playing host to a basilisk."

He paused while the Order reacted to his news and eventually quieted to hear his explanation.

"As some of you know, the basilisk is the king of the serpents, able to kill instantly if someone were to look into its eyes. However, looking indirectly into its gaze, through a reflection in a mirror for example, will cause a person to be Petrified, like Mr. Wealsey was. The Dark Lord, as a Parselmouth, would be able to control the creature. I have yet to determine where the Chamber is, or what purpose the missing students would serve, but I will do all in my power to find out.

"As you are all aware, the Dark Lord himself has been keeping to the shadows while his higher ranked Death Eaters are more or less in charge. I have been trying to find the reason for this and I feel that I may have discovered the reason, but until I am certain I will keep that information a secret. The raids have become more random as the Death Eaters grow more restless without their leader. Bellatrix, in particular, has become almost impossible to control, despite mine and Lucius' best efforts.

"The Dark Lord delivers his messages through his puppet, Peter Pettigrew, and sees no one. His orders are related directly from Pettigrew to the individual, making it next to impossible to learn of any attacks beforehand."

Snape paused and seemed to collect himself before continuing, "Lucius and I have our own group that is loyal to us but utterly untrustworthy. We have been using them to keep track of the other Death Eaters to try to anticipate their movements" With a quick glance at Dumbledore, he continued. "We were able to prevent an attack today on the family of one of our members and the family was moved to one of the Order's safehouses."

"Who was it?" someone called fearfully from the back.

"That is not your concern. The family is safe and I will speak to the person later."

Snape sat down stiffly, keeping his back straight and his eyes on the Headmaster.

Lupin leaned over to him, saying quietly, "Why don't you let someone help you?"

"What do you mean?" he said irritably, trying to keep his voice down.

"You're hurt, I can smell the blood."

"It's nothing. Don't say anything to anyone Lupin" Snape hissed.

Lupin sat back with a sigh, cursing the stubborn Potions Master and resolving to mention it to Molly later.

Bill made his way to the front to give his reports on the likelihood of the goblins siding with them in any future battles and to add to the map that had been taken out.

The map was enormous and extremely complex; it had been Snape's idea, although he had based it off a something that the Marauders had created. It had taken almost ten people to create and was modeled after the Marauder's Map that had been created when they were in school. Except that this map showed the whole world. There were detailed pull out pages dedicated to Scotland, especially the area surrounding Hogwarts, and England.

For security measures, the Order had decided not to mark themselves on the Map, deciding that if the Map were to fall into unfriendly hands, it would be too easy to pick them off one by one with their locations known at all times.

They had, however, marked any area, by date and color, which had been affected by Voldemort or his Death Eaters. Attacks on Order members, or battles where an Order member was present, were marked in blue. Attacks on Muggles were marked in red, attacks on anyone magical but not affiliated with the Order were in yellow, attacks on anyone in the Ministry were in purple. Attacks on magical creatures were marked in brown and identified with the name of the creature or group. Any area that had been used as part of a Dark Revel had been marked in green. The houses of suspected Death Eaters and a few probable places where Voldemort's headquarters could be were in black. The Order's safehouses were marked in gold, and the underground prisons that were used were in orange.

It was a complex system and no one could write it down; everyone had it memorized and kept safe by their oaths to the Order. They couldn't afford to let anyone know what the Map represented. Bill added several attacks on the Map, explaining what had happened and what it meant to them and the possibility of an alliance with the goblins or giants.

After him, Lupin got up and explained how his dealings with the werewolves were going. "Greyback and the Death Eaters are making them offers that I can't compete with. A few have agreed to come over to our side if we can supply them with the Wolfsbane, but the majority feels that we are suppressing a gift instead of a curse and have sided with Greyback." Lupin added several more attacks to the Map as Sirius stood up.

"Severus and I have been working as co-Head's of Intelligence for the Order, and we agreed that it's time to refresh the Order's memory of the prophecy in light of recent events. I'm not going to recite the prophecy, for I know none of you have actually read or heard it, but I will give you the general idea with a few details. The prophecy was delivered on June 13, 1980. It foretold Voldemort's power increasing dramatically, and predicted that he would achieve immortality. It also spoke of a child that would be born in exactly six months with the mark of a phoenix on their arm. It said that the child would face hardships and trials of pain and horror unknown to the rest of us. But it said that if the child were to endure, they would become one of the most powerful beings ever and would be the only one that could defeat Voldemort."

The Order sat in silence, digesting the information and Sirius gave them a moment before dropping the bomb.

"We have discovered the child that the prophecy refers to, and I believe many of you met her today" he looked around to find Tonk's mouth hanging open, Molly with tears in her eyes, Kingsley looking shocked, and several looking openly horrified at the thought of such a nice, quiet girl having to face such a bleak future.

"Hermione Granger is the child of the prophecy, and we must to all in our power to protect her until she is ready to face Voldemort."

Those who had known or met Hermione were the fist to stand and pledge to help in any way they could. Those who had not met Hermione stood after seeing how much support the girl already had and echoed their pledge.

Dumbledore stood, "Thank you all. I will rest better knowing that I have such dedicated people to safeguard the future. Happy holidays and keep safe."

Sirius stood once more, "Grimmauld Place is open to anyone who wants to stay over and feel free to stop by for Christmas. Remember everyone: Constant Vigilance!"

That earned a few laughs at Moody's expense, who grumbled about young people not respecting their elders. Though it was aimed at the room, his magical eye found Tonks, who had Morphed her face to look like his, minus the magical eye, and with the addition of her regular pink hair.

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Ginny had gone to train with the boys at Hermione's suggestion, so when she heard people downstairs, Hermione grabbed her notebook and tried to slip into the library. As she made her way past all the people she was aware that they were giving her odd looks, some like pity, others like sympathy, and all with sadness. She shrugged it off and headed to her large armchair by the fireplace.

She pulled out Most Potente Potions, which she had been itching to read for a while, and started to take notes.

In the kitchen, Lupin pulled Molly aside. "Molly, if you would check that Severus is unharmed I would be in your debt."

She looked at him and said in a tight voice, "Is he injured? He looked fine during the meeting."

Lupin looked uncomfortable, "I could smell the blood on him. I asked if he was injured and he told me to leave it alone. If you could discretely check…"

But Molly didn't do "discrete."

"Severus!" she called, looking for the Potions Master. She found him in the corner of the dining room and charged up to him with Lupin close behind.

"Yes, Molly?" He drawled, hiding his pain.

"Remus said you're injured" she hissed, just loud enough for him to hear. Lupin flinched; Snape would get him back for this.

Snape shot a glare at the werewolf before turning to the woman in front of him and saying, "I assure you I am fine."

"You're not getting away that easily!" she cried, moving to pull him by the elbow into the kitchen, but the spy flinched away.

His movement reminded Molly of the first time she met Hermione and how the young girl shied away from her. Clearing her head she moved over and said quietly, "Why won't you let us help you?"

Snape was surprised by her tone, but replied scathingly, "I chose this, and I can take care of myself. I am not hurt."

He swept from the room, only pausing to glare once more at Lupin, and made his way into the library, where he hoped it would be quieter.

Snape sank into one of the armchairs with a barely suppressed groan.

"Professor?" a voice startled him.

_Damn, I didn't even notice she was in here. Some spy I am- can't even see when a twelve year old is in the room.  
_

"You're hurt" she said neutrally.

"Five points to Slytherin, Miss Granger" he snarled.

"Can I help?" she replied, ignoring his comment.

By this point, Snape had hidden the wound for several hours and was afraid that it would be infected, even with the spells he had hastily cast before coming to the meeting.

"Miss Granger, can you cast a cleaning charm on my shoulder?" he said quietly, consenting to her help.

"Of course sir" she moved over to see his arm, unable to hide her shock at how much blood there was.

Snape carefully exposed the large cut on his shoulder, removing the stasis charm that had slowed the blood flow. Hermione's wand was steady as she cleaned the blood away and cast a charm to prevent infection. Quickly, before the man could protest, she cast a quick healing charm designed to clean, heal, and close a wound caused by a minor dark spell and most light spells.

To her relief, the spell worked and Snape whirled on her, angry that she had overstepped her bounds. "I didn't ask you to heal it."

"I know. I took a liberty. But now when Molly Weasley barges in here or accosts you at dinner you can tell her that you're fine and actually mean it."

She plopped back into her armchair and opened her book once more.

Snape's anger was replaced with curiosity, _why is she reading that? And why did she help me?_

"Miss Granger, why are you reading that book? It's advanced potions."

"I find it interesting sir" she said without looking up.

Intrigued, Snape saw that she was taking notes as well and moved closer to see what she was writing. To his surprise, she didn't try to hide her notes like most people would when someone was glancing over their shoulder.

As an added surprise he found that he couldn't see what she was writing. He watched her carefully; her quill had ink, was moving across the page, and she was actively reading the book for facts to pull out.

"Miss Granger, how are you hiding your notes?" He asked silkily, falling into the armchair opposite her.

"Quid pro quo, Professor. Tell me how you were injured" she said, finally looking him in the eyes.

Snape's temper flared, _how dare she?! _Until he noticed that there was no malice in her eyes, only curiosity and a bit of worry.

"The book first" he demanded; if she wanted to play like that then he would play too.

Hermione assented, sensing that he wouldn't budge from this deal. "I've put a lot of spells on my notebook to prevent anyone from destroying, damaging, reading, or summoning it."

"And I fell" Snape's lip curled. _If you want to be obtuse, I can be as well. _

Hermione's eyes flared, understanding the game he was playing but she was loath to part with her secrets.

"I've bound it to me" she said quietly.

The only thing that gave Snape's shock away was his eyes. They widened for a moment before becoming clouded once more.

"As in blood magic?" he managed to get out_. "Hardships and trials of pain and horror unknown to the rest of us" indeed. How much has she accomplished without out knowledge? What has she suffered through without us knowing?_

"Yes, Professor, as in blood magic" she said, and then raised an eyebrow when he was not forthcoming with his explanation.

"I am sure that you're aware that I am a spy for the Order" at her nod he continued. "I was called this morning to participate in an attack on the family of one of the members here. I was able to back out at the last minute with the excuse that I had a potion to care for. I brought along some Polyjuice Potion and headed for the Bones' house. I was able to get most of them out of the house, but the youngest, Kali, had hidden herself upstairs (AN 2)." Snape's eyes were glazed; he was reliving the experiences, no longer aware that he was talking aloud, or that Hermione was listening.

"I convinced Edgar and Katherine to take the Portkey to the safehouse with Susan and let me retrieve Kali and meet them there. Anticipating a battle, I took the Polyjuice Potion, making myself look like Edgar. They resisted until the Death Eaters came in. I was able to shield them while they got away, and then I had to duel them before looking for Kali. I was able to show Lucius that I was me, and he took out two of them from behind. I was able to Stun and bind the rest, but one of them managed to hit me with a cutting curse. Lucius and I modified their memories and I went to find Kali and get her to the safehouse. After that I came over for the Order meeting. Lucius was able to get word to me on the way over that he had returned and wasn't discovered."

Snape blinked, realizing that he had said too much and was opening his mouth to demand that she keep this information to herself when Hermione began to speak softly.

"Professor, you trusted me enough to tell me that, so I think it's only fair that I trust you in return.

"I think that you already suspect this at least, but I'm going to start at the beginning." She took a deep breath and kept her eyes trained on her hands, which were resting in her lap.

"My mum and dad are both Muggles. As far back as I can remember, they both loved me. My childhood was happy and I was normal until I was six. That was the summer when my mom was hit by drunk driver. I was in the car, but I came out without a scratch on me. I still don't know how that happened. My mom was rushed to the hospital, but she died before they could do anything to help her.

"At first my dad was so overcome with grief that he didn't notice me. But after a while he started to resent the fact that I had come out uninjured while mum died. I think it was the shock and stress that finally got to me, but that was my first experience with accidental magic- I levitated all of the objects in the room. My dad flipped out. He didn't know what was happening and began to blame me for mum's death. He said I caused it since I hadn't been hurt. He lashed out at me; physically, mentally, and emotionally. He started to drink, and that's when he started hitting me.

"I didn't tell anyone because I believed it was my fault for the longest time. I just kept thinking, 'If I wasn't a freak, if I wasn't different, mum would be alive and dad would love me.' When my Hogwarts letter came and Ben explained everything to me I began to think that maybe it wasn't my fault. I might not have saved my mum but I wasn't responsible for her death since I couldn't control my magic at that age. I still didn't tell anyone though. At that point why bother. I'm out of the house and away from him for almost the whole year. I can survive the summer with him. Once I'm seventeen I can leave and stay in the magical world for good. Besides, anyone I told would only try to baby me."

She looked over to her Professor, her eyes hard and dry of any tears, "I don't need anyone's pity or sympathy."

They regarded each other for a minute, both fighting for control of their emotions, both of their minds buzzing with the new information and past hurts.

Snape spoke first, "So what are the chances of you telling me what the purpose of that notebook is?"

Hermione looked at him, suddenly wary. Snape noticed the change and wondered what she was hiding in that notebook that had her so worried when she had just told him a secret far more worrisome than he had thought.

She spoke carefully, "Sir, I need you to swear to me that you won't tell the Headmaster about what I'm doing."

Now Snape was worried, _What in Merlin's name has got her so worried? Although she admitted to me that she doesn't trust the Headmaster anyway. If she tells me and I think I need to tell someone there are other people who I can tell. _

Hermione, though, had followed his train of thought and changed her request, "I need a wand oath that you won't reveal this without my permission."

Snape swore loudly, "Miss Granger, if you are so worried about this than it is obviously dangerous and I should call in the Headmaster right now."

She gave him a calculating look, "Of course, that's your decision sir."

Snape cursed again, _She seems to trust me to a small degree now; involving others would only make her withdraw further into herself. She needs to see that she can trust someone. At least if I know what she's hiding I can help protect her later. _

He slowly pulled out his wand and made the oath, watching her face carefully. She looked shocked.

Watching him the entire time, she walked over and told him to make a small cut on his palm as she opened the book to a seemingly random and empty page and instructed him to sign his name in blood exactly where she told him.

He did so, and after that she closed the book with a snap and handed it to him. "Open it."

He did, immediately noticing the charms to make it lightweight, fire and water proof, as well as the blood binding magic. Flipping through, he was astonished to see how many sections there were and concluded that there was a spell being used to keep those sections closed and minimized.

He continued to flip through the notebook, finding a section for each of the Hogwarts subjects- even the electives that Hermione appeared to have chosen for next year. There was a section for information on the Order, Voldemort, the Death Eaters, the limited information she had on the prophecy, students of interest at Hogwarts, and each teachers.

He looked at her, wondering when she had compiled all of this, before curiosity got the better of him and he read his own section. He was slightly alarmed to see how much information she had on him, and how much was accurate.

Anticipating his question, she said, "There are several books in this library dedicated solely to pureblood families. They have very complete records and I used them for everything that I could" seeing the look on his face she said. "Kind of makes you wish you didn't know, right?"

He flipped past the teachers and found a new section, giving a small cry of surprise when he saw the title.

"What in Merlin's name are you thinking?" he hissed.

"That I will see the end of this war; prophecy or no" she said. "And that means understanding my enemy."

"I don't think you fully understand what those abominations are. How evil they are" Snape said, gesturing to the title.

"Then let me demonstrate how much I know: Horcruxes are among the Darkest magic ever discovered. In order to make one, you have to split your soul, usually by killing someone. It is a painful process that forces a bit of the shattered soul into an object, so that if the body were to die, part of the soul would live on. It is a horrible existence, and over time a person loses the connection to that part of the soul. The object can be anything, can be hidden anywhere and protected by anything" she recited angrily, "So don't tell me I don't understand when I understand better than most."

Snape was on the verge of panicking, _How can this girl know so much? I only discovered the possibility of the Dark Lord making Horcruxes a month ago. _

Snape no longer wanted to know how she had discovered the information; he had had enough revelations for the day.

"Miss Granger, while I understand that you think this is necessary I must caution you against continuing this."

"I can't sir. I'm the child of the prophecy, remember?"

He sighed audibly, "Then at least allow me to see what you have discovered when I visit. There is probably something in this notebook that I can use or expand upon, and it would probably help me as a spy. I am sure that I can add to your information as well, if you would permit it."

"When will you visit next?"

"I will probably stop by on Christmas."

"Then take it with you until then" she said, handing the notebook over to him.

"Very well" he stood and walked to the door before turning around. _I think it's time to show her that she's not the only one with information._

"By the way, happy belated birthday, Miss Granger."

She paled, "How do you know my birthday?"

He smirked, "You're not the only one with sources. I will see you on Christmas" and strode through the door.

Hermione sat back in her armchair, mind frantically sifting through all that had happened in the last- goodness it had only been an hour and a half- _I had hidden everything so well. What made me divulge just about every secret I had?_

Snape walked through the kitchen, wondering almost the same thing, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and searched for Amelia Bones.

"Amelia, if I might have a moment?" he said, indicating the quieter hallway.

She nodded and followed him. "I wanted to let you know that your brother and his family are in safehouse seven, alive and unharmed. I am sure that they would like to see you."

Amelia gasped in understanding and reached out to touch Snape's shoulder. "Oh goodness. They're all ok?" She looked at him, worried that he might suddenly tell her that he lied and one was hurt or worse.

He assured her, "They are all safe. If you don't mind, I'll escort you there." She started to protest, but he calmed her, "For my own peace of mind, if nothing else."

Snape and Amelia apparated a block away from the safehouse and walked the rest of the way there, glancing down side alleys and behind their backs every so often to ensure they weren't followed. Snape allowed Amelia to enter first, and she did, after giving the password.

She collapsed into her brother's arms. "You're all ok? Katherine, and Susan, and Kali?" He nodded as Amelia walked over to her nieces and sister-in-law, hugging them close.

"Mr. Snape," Edgar offered a hand. "My family owes you their lives. If you hadn't warned us I don't know what would have happened. And you saved Kali. If you ever need something, know that I will help in any way I can."

"How is your shoulder?" Katherine asked.

"What happened?" Amelia asked quickly. "Severus, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine-" he said, but Edgar cut him off. "You weren't fine when you came back with Kali. There was blood all over your shoulder. You never did tell us what happened after we left. We were sick with worry; you and Kali didn't come for at least twenty minutes."

"Severus," Amelia looked pale. "Please tell me what happened." She was holding Kali in her lap and pulled Susan close.

"I'm not sure that the children should hear what happened" he stalled.

Katherine looked at him critically, "Kali lived it and Susan needs to understand how dangerous the war is so that she doesn't wander off. Now tell us what happened."

"Very well." He collected his thoughts. "Lucius was instructed to attack your house with five other Death Eaters, not including me. I was able to convince the Dark Lord that I needed to attend to several potions, so I was allowed to remain behind. The plan was to get you out and for me to remain behind, looking like Edgar. I would say that my family had been moved to a safehouse last week and I had come to retrieve some personal items when the Death Eaters came in. After that I would apparate away.

"However," here he cast a glance over to Katherine. "It was more difficult than I had anticipated to get everyone to the Portkey. You were able to Portkey when the Death Eaters came through the door, but Kali was upstairs. Lucius assisted me from the sideline and was able to take down two of the Death Eaters from behind before I sent a jinx in his direction and he fell, pretending to be Stunned. I managed to subdue the other three, and in the process one of them hit me with a cutting curse. Lucius and I modified their memories and then I went upstairs to find Kali and brought her to the safehouse."

Snape didn't show his annoyance at having to tell his story twice in one night; he wasn't used to people asking about his missions and was grateful for it on most occasions. But it was nice to know that he was appreciated, and it was nice to be able to save a whole family.

Amelia stood and walked over to Snape, gripping him in a fierce hug. "Severus, I can't even begin to thank you. I don't know what I would do without my family and you risked so much to save them." She suddenly pulled away, looking at his shoulder. "You're ok, right? I mean, you healed it, it wasn't cursed or anything?"

"I assure you I am fine and will suffer no permanent injury from today's mishaps" he looked at the family. "Stay safe, if not for me then at least for Amelia. And I'm sure that Sirius has room if you need somewhere to stay."

Katherine waved him off, "We'll be fine. And thank you. You saved my girls and I won't ever forget that."

Snape left the house, adding another protective spell to it, and apparated back to the gate of Hogwarts, intent on reading what exactly Hermione had in her notebook.

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Authors's Note 1: Ego dico thee scelero quod veneficus: I call thee with blood and magic. My own blood binding spell.

Author's Note 2: I changed the Bones' family because I'm evil like that. There's Amelia, her brother Edgar, his wife Katherine, and their daughters Susan and Kali. Kali is seven years old and has displayed signs of magic. I'm not sure if she will reappear or not.

I decided at about midnight that I would post this now since I'm having trouble finishing the Christmas part of this chapter. So the next chapter will take a while and probably won't be up until I get back from my trip at the end of July. Hope you enjoyed it!

Always,  
Sinkme


	10. Christmas and a Conference

Hello!

I'm not dead yet (I can dance and I can sing...)

Anyway, sorry for the long break between updates- I know I promised to try to post after I got back in July but the real world pulled my attention away. I can't promise that it won't happen again (since school is _kind of_ important) but I will try to update more regularly.

The good news is that I have most of the last part of Hermione's second year done, so that chapter won't take long.

Maintanence:

_Thought_

"Normal speaking"

_"Spell"_

_Nonverbal Spell_

_"Parseltounge"_

Thanks to my reviewers: Sylphides, Sofia7, Harry-Hermione Potter, Lysjknopp, Stashthesocks, Padslet, Kymie29, Fire Daughter, potterhead0013, XxXxJackBlackxXxX, Darkness-Lightness, pstibbons, digio, camya (anon), Diespedes, notwritten, missevilprincess, Dark Yellow Dino, Excel Go Boom, and Miss-Fleur-Riddle

Disclaimer: Instead of wasting time trying to think of something witty to say about not owning Harry Potter, I'm going to assume that anyone reading this is smart enough to know that (although judging by the people I know, my assumption may be putting too much faith in the human race)

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There were three days until Christmas, and everyone was busy doing some last minute wrapping. Hermione had decided the other day that she needed a present for Ginny and several smaller gifts for some of the Order members, so she had sent Lara out and was waiting for her to return.

Mrs. Weasley had everyone help decorating the large house, and for the most part they couldn't use magic. Percy and the twins were in charge of the Christmas tree and decorations, Ron and Harry had to hang garland around the house and assist with the household decorations, and Hermione and Ginny had to help in the kitchen.

Hermione was itching to get out from under Mrs. Weasley's watchful gaze, but once she was able to ignore the woman she found that chores with Ginny weren't that bad.

Fred and George came over and asked Ginny if had seen any gnomes in the neighbor's gardens that they could use.

"Why do you need gnomes?" Hermione asked. She was at a complete loss as to what the twins would need a gnome for.

"Why to put on the tree silly" George said, mockingly exasperated.

"Why would you put a gnome on the tree?"

"Hermione dear" Fred began in a long winded voice. "I know you're not used to wizarding Christmases so I won't hold it against you. It has been a long standing tradition in old wizarding families that the children would try to catch a gnome to put on the top of the tree and whoever caught the first gnome would get an extra present that year. I know a gnome seems silly but what did you put on your trees at home?"

Hermione looked down suddenly, her cheeks growing pink. "We used to put a star on our tree" she lied.

Fred looked at her skeptically, "Used to? Well what do you put on it now? I'm sure Dad would love to hear about it actually, he just loves Muggle traditions and inventions. Hey Dad!"

Mr. Weasley came over to his son, "What do you need Forge?"

Hermione looked at Ginny expectantly.

"Most people outside of the family can't tell the twins apart, so they told everyone to either call them Forge or Gred, that way they always gets part of the name right. We just call them that because it's funny."

"Uh-huh" Hermione said as she heard Fred tell his father about how Hermione was telling them about her Muggle Christmases.

Arthur's face lit up like a light bulb as he turned to Hermione. "I absolutely love learning about new Muggle techno-whatsis. The things they come up with are incredible. What sort of things do you have for Christmas?"

Hermione didn't have it in her to tell Mr. Weasley that she didn't remember the Christmas celebrations from when she was younger; and her dad had certainly never celebrated anything with her.

"We had most of the traditional Muggle trappings: the tree, lights, a star, presents in the morning. Nothing really fancy or out of the ordinary" she lied.

Mr. Weasley seemed particularly focused on the light bulbs and how they were made to change colors without magic, so Hermione gratefully turned the subject away from her own Christmas celebrations to a more approachable subject.

Fred and George watched Hermione for a moment before they went outside in search on a gnome. Mrs. Weasley came over a minute later to pull Arthur away from the young witch, "Come along, dear. There's plenty to do and Hermione will be here for the rest of the break."

Hermione turned back to Ginny, who was silently laughing at her friend. Hermione laughed, too, her previous worries forgotten. Ginny turned and went to the kitchen to help her mum and Hermione went to help Harry and Ron.

Ron gave her some garland to hang around the house and she occupied the rest of her morning hanging garland anywhere she could reach.

It felt nice to be able to concentrate on nothing. Even as she told herself that she should take more breaks she berated herself for being weak enough to enjoy the break.

_I must be strong. They're all depending on me. Once I prove that I'm strong enough, they'll tell me about the prophecy and I can be on my own and finish this all. _

She repeated her mantra, _I must be strong_, to herself several more times as she moved through the large house. She did her best to try and distance herself from the frivolity of the season, but everyone, especially the twins, were making it hard for her.

She felt uncomfortable being in such a festive house, so when lunch rolled around, she retreated to the library. She was not surprised when Ginny joined her, and found to her surprise that she didn't mind the other girl's intrusion. They chatted happily about Christmas and Ginny patiently answered Hermione's questions about the holiday in the wizarding world.

In the kitchen, Harry, Ron, and the twins planned several pranks that they would put into action in the days preceding the holiday. Sirius turned a blind eye to their plans and saw that Molly seemed to be staring into space.

He approached her slowly and put a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"Molly. Is everything alright?" he asked quietly.

She jumped slightly and gave him an embarrassed smile. "Just thinking." He turned to find Remus when Molly called to him.

"Sirius. I just remembered. You said that the prophecy was delivered on June 13th right?"

He nodded, clearly confused as to where she was going with this.

"And that the child would be born six months from then?"

Again he nodded, starting to follow her train of thought.

"Which would make her birthday the 13th?"

They looked at each other, "Why didn't she say anything? Her birthday was a week ago- the first day of the break."

Sirius thought back to the first day that Hermione was at the house, but as far as he could tell, she gave no sign at all that the day was anything special.

"Molly, I know this will be hard for you, but don't ask Hermione about it. If she didn't say anything then she must not have wanted a big fuss."

Molly looked at him curiously, "Sirius you will have to tell me eventually what is going on. I'm hardly blind to what goes on here. Her muggle upbringing can only account for so much. She is polite to a fault, quiet, withdrawn, hardly interacts with anyone, and she seems to have no idea about what Christmas is."

Sirius shook his head sadly, "Molly, it sounds like you already have your own guess. I won't say anything until I'm sure."

Molly nodded, "Alright, Sirius. I won't say anything. But I'm not happy about skipping her birthday."

"Neither am I."

They returned to the kitchen and Sirius say Harry give him a thankful wave as the four boys ran upstairs. _He must have thought that I was distracting Molly from their pranks. If only that's all I had to worry about. _

Remus came in a minute later, followed by Tonks and Kingsley. They were chatting amiably about the upcoming holiday and their plans. Although most of the order members would at least stop by the house on Christmas, many of them were spending the majority of the day with their family.

Hermione spent the remainder of the day with Ginny and they talked about everything from school to the war. Well, Ginny talked, Hermione mostly listened.

She learned the Ginny felt overshadowed by her brothers and had a small crush on Harry. She also knew far more about the Order than Hermione had guessed, and she wished she had her notebook with her. She continued to teach Ginny how to meditate and clear her mind.

The younger girl was beginning to have some difficulties in the exercises, but Hermione encouraged her to keep trying.

"It's all about mastering your emotions. You don't have to actually be emotionless." Hermione explained to Ginny.

"I can't!" She said, very frustrated. "How do you do it? You're good at everything! No one can beat you!"

"That's not true" Hermione said quietly.

Ginny looked at her friend, wishing that she could be trusted enough for Hermione to talk to her, and she vowed to double her efforts in Occlumency so that Hermione could tell her what was worrying her.

After another hour of practice, Ginny practically begged that they go to the training room. Hermione consented, and the redhead raced upstairs.

Hermione followed her, pausing to say a quiet "Hello" to the kitchen's occupants, and padded silently up the stairs.

Hermione was far from stupid; she knew that something had happened in the Order meeting, and that something had concerned her. She was uncomfortable with all the attention she was getting and longed to remain shut in the library for the rest of the holiday. Sadly, Ginny would never let her do that, so she grudgingly jogged the rest of the way up the stairs. She passed the twins who were charming Never-Popping-Bubbles to fly at each other and entered the training room.

"You absolutely have to teach me some cool spells" the younger girl begged as soon as she entered the room.

Hermione quirked an eyebrow, "Define 'cool'?"

Ginny groaned, "You know what I mean! None of my brothers will teach me anything because 'I'm too young'" she mimicked. "But I have to know how to defend myself and give it back twice as good."

She looked at her friend, "I'm not stupid. There's a war going on out there, even in Hogwarts. Practically my whole family is in the Order and that makes me guilty by association."

"I never said I wouldn't teach you, Ginny" Hermione shrugged. "I just wanted to see what it was that you wanted to learn."

Ginny grinned, "Do you know the Bat-Bogey Hex?"

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Dinner that night was a riotous affair; the twins had started off some of their more harmless pranks, and the diners found throughout the meal that neither the silverware, nor the furniture would remain still for long. Eating became a disaster as the spoons refused to hold the potatoes for more than a second. Sitting proved impossible when the chairs took to dumping their occupants and flying around the room.

Mrs. Weasley was properly mad, but her husband convinced her not to punish them in the spirit of the holiday, although he could be seen winking to his sons as his seat and silverware lost their animate qualities.

Hermione went to the library after dinner, desperate to escape from the table and the Christmas songs that Mrs. Weasley was insisting that everyone sing.

Not five minutes later, Hermione turned to find Lupin walking into the library.

"Do you mind if I hide in here with you?" He asked good-naturedly.

"Not at all." Hermione said, and gestured to an empty armchair near the fireplace.

They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes before Lupin turned to look at her. "Hermione, I need to ask you something. You don't need to answer it, but it needs to be asked."

Hermione nodded, knowing what he would ask her.

"You're not happy here, are you?" He said softly.

Hermione looked shocked and then angry, "Of course I'm happy here. What gave you the idea that I wasn't?"

Lupin didn't look at her; he kept his gaze on the growing fire, "Maybe happy isn't the right word. You're uncomfortable here. I can tell. So can everyone else. You won't offend us, Hermione, but it's painfully clear that something is wrong."

Hermione took several minutes to comprehend what he said before answering, "You're right. I am uncomfortable here, but it's no one's fault. I'm an only child and I've never been used to attention or making a fuss of holidays, or waking up in a house with almost a dozen other people in it. I guess it will just take time for me to adjust, but I haven't been making an honest effort to try to get used to everything."

"Why is that?" Lupin asked, looking at Hermione properly now, only to see a small girl curled up in an armchair with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"I think you know why."

Lupin nodded painfully, he knew all too well why Hermione was rejecting all that was good in her life right now.

_I did the same thing when I was in school and Sirius and James befriended me. I pushed them away because I was afraid that they wouldn't stay with me and I didn't want to get hurt. _

"Hermione, I can't promise that things won't get bad, but I swear to you that no one here will ever betray you. I promise that me, Sirius, Harry, the Weasleys, even Severus would never leave you willingly" as he spoke he looked right into her gray eyes, assuring her of the truth of what he was saying.

Hermione just nodded, knowing that arguing her self-doubts would not do any good, and feeling better about his reassurances.

"Would you like to join our songs?"

Hermione nodded and was surprised to find that she actually did want to sing. _The past is behind me and the future will never be in my grasp. _

She joined in for several songs, Mr. Weasley was kind enough to make several pages of paper with the words to each song for her, and she passed the early evening away happily.

In her temporary joy, she failed to notice the scheming looks that the twins were casting towards Ginny.

That night, Hermione awoke to a scream coming from Ginny's room. Snatching her wand she ran quickly to Ginny's room, only to find that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Sirius were there, barely half a second later, Lupin, Harry, and Percy arrived as well.

They ran into her room, terrified at what they would find, only to see Ginny hiding under the covers as a small snake silently slithered towards her. The adults heaved a sigh of relief and moved to comfort Ginny. Hermione gave Harry a small push and nodded her head towards Ginny.

Harry got the clue and walked over to Ginny, who hid her face in his shoulder, embarrassed that she had caused such a scene. Harry murmured soothing words to her and then turned to the snake.

The room froze as Harry whispered weird hissing noises to the snake. Ginny's grip on his arms loosened and she looked at him in shocked curiosity.

Hermione looked at the adults, worried. She noticed that they all looked either shocked or openly terrified. _That must be Parseltongue. This isn't good. _

It took several minutes to calm everyone down, but Sirius and Remus took Harry aside and Mr. Weasley made it very clear that Hermione and Ginny shouldn't say anything about what happened.

Mrs. Weasley made her way to the twins' room, looking very angry.

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The next day and a half passed in a whirlwind of preparations and festivities in Grimmauld Place. Hermione made an effort to talk to people besides Ginny and found that the twins weren't as bad as she thought. They were actually rather brilliant and she admired their plans for a joke shop. She and Percy were able to talk about a wide range of things, and Mr. Weasley questioned her about every bit of Muggle technology under the sun.

She avoided Mrs. Weasley less, and found that the woman wasn't as overbearing as she had thought she was.

Hermione was pleased when the presents she ordered came on the night before Christmas Eve day. She took some time to carefully wrap them and then set them aside to place under the large tree tomorrow morning.

Christmas Eve came and the excitement was palpable in the house. After placing her gifts under the tree, Hermione was glad that she had gotten several more gifts for the Weasley's and some of the Order members after she saw her name on several gifts.

Ginny and Hermione spent the whole day helping Mrs. Weasley in her quest to make sure that everything was perfect for the next day. She watched amusedly as Mrs. Weasley rounded up the twins, Harry, and Ron and told them in no uncertain terms that any pranks would wait until the day after Christmas or several unmentionable horrors would await them.

The twins nodded solemnly, with only a small twinkle in their eyes, but Harry and Ron paled slightly and nodded their consent. Hermione surveyed her black haired friend. He seemed quieter today, obviously as a result of last night, and she made a note to herself to talk to him about it soon.

Dinner that night was very animated, partly in an effort to forget about last night, and partly in anticipation for tomorrow. Hermione listened as the Weasleys shared stories from past holidays and Sirius and Lupin added their own. If anyone noticed that Hermione was quiet, no one mentioned it.

They got to bed late after much signing and merriment. Hermione sat in her bed for almost half an hour before trying to fall asleep. She wondered if she was doing the right thing. _I've never been this happy before. But I feel like I should be training more. No one seems to understand that I'm alone in this. Once I know the prophecy I'm going on my own to beat Voldemort and they can't change my mind. But it's nice to have fun. Ok, I'll focus again after the holiday. What harm can a couple of days do?_

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"Hermione! Wake up! Wake up, wake up!"

Hermione sat up in her bed and frantically searched for her wand before she caught sight of the red head in front of her.

"Ginny?" She asked groggily. "What's going on?"

"It's Christmas! Time to wake up and go downstairs" she ran out of the room and down the stairs and Hermione looked at the clock: 5:30.

_Ugh_ she groaned. _I'd better get up now._ She pulled on a pair of pants and a sweater and went to the bathroom to comb her hair.

After splashing some water on her face and brushing her teeth she felt a lot better and walked downstairs only to be assaulted with many well wishes and hugs. Mrs. Weasley insisted that they have a small breakfast while they waited for everyone to come down, so Hermione and Ginny helped Mrs. Weasley cook some muffins, eggs, and bacon for everyone. Percy and Mr. Weasley came down at quarter after six, courtesy of Fred and George, so they were finally able to convince everyone to move to the tree.

The tree and the gifts under it took up most of the room and everyone took their pile of gifts to distribute to the people they got them for. They went from oldest to youngest, so Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave their gifts first. Mrs. Weasley handed Hermione a box and Hermione took it, surprised that the woman had gotten something for her.

She opened it to find a grey sweater with a blue H in the middle. Looking around the room, she saw that all of the other kids, even Percy, had a sweater with their initial in it. She ducked her head, embarrassed that she had been included in the tradition since she hadn't been very receiving towards Mrs. Weasley.

Sirius and Lupin gave out their gifts next. Sirius got everyone something from Honeydukes, and passed out the chocolate bars, Harry teased Lupin when Sirius gave the werewolf the biggest bar; Lupin's love of chocolate was a standing joke in the house.

Lupin handed out his presents; different books for each person. Percy jumped up and handed out his presents as well. The twins groaned when they saw that Percy got everyone books as well. Hermione looked at her books in appreciation; Lupin got her a book on the rise of the Dark Arts, and Percy got her a book on experimental charms.

The twins got up next and handed out their presents, everyone looked at their box nervously; no one wanted to be the first to open it. Fred laughed, "Don't worry; we didn't rig any of your presents. That would just be cruel!"

Ginny glanced at Hermione, who shrugged, and the two girls opened their gifts simultaneously. There was a small puff of smoke, and everyone leaned in curiously. Hermione reached into her box and pulled out a necklace with a large gold half-moon pendent on it. She looked over at Ginny and saw that she had a similar pendent but it was on a bracelet.

They put them on and everyone else opened their present to find something with the same pendent. Mrs. Weasley had a bracelet as well, Mr. Weasley attached his to his pocket watch, Percy's pendent was on the end of a new quill, Sirius looked at his; "Cute, guys, real cute," his was on a dog collar. Lupin laughed, and attached his to his pocket watch as well. Ron and Harry each had theirs on small wristwatches.

"They're beautiful, boys" Mrs. Weasley gushed.

"Yea, real charming" Sirius said sarcastically as he removed the pendent from the collar.

"What do they do?" Ginny asked.

"What do you mean 'what do they do'?" George said, looking offended. "They're pretty."

Ginny made a face, Hermione looked at her necklace more closely. "They definitely do something," she said, turning the pendent over in her hand. "There's something in it."

"Fine, spoil the surprise" Fred scolded.

"They're not complete yet, but they will be soon" George put in. "We're planning on putting something in them. But the potion isn't done yet."

"Don't tell me you made Felix Felicis" Hermione said, shocked.

Everyone turned towards the twins. Mrs. Weasley looked even more surprised than she had been.

"But that's terribly difficult to create" Percy said.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Perce" Fred smirked. "And that's why it isn't done yet. Once it is you can store it in your pendent and always have a bit with you. And no one will suspect because the pendent is gold colored."

"But where were you brewing it?" Lupin said with a look of dread.

George looked at him innocently, "What Professor Snape doesn't know-"

"Won't get us in trouble" Fred finished.

"He's coming over today" Hermione said.

"Thanks for the warning" George smiled.

"Can we finish the presents?" Ginny asked impatiently. "Of course- Ron, Harry, why don't you hand your gifts out?" Mrs. Weasley said.

Ron got mostly Quidditch related gifts for everyone, and Harry picked out hats and scarves for everyone, but he gave Hermione something different.

She opened it, surprised at the weight, and saw that it was a picture album. She looked over to Harry, who looked embarrassed. "This is kind of a joint present from Ginny and me. We took them over break and found a couple from the last two years and put them together."

Hermione was so touched that they would put that much effort into a gift for her that she could hardly say her thanks. Hermione collected herself and stood to hand out her gifts.

For Mr. Weasley she got a book on Muggle electronics and promised to show him how some of them worked. She got Mrs. Weasley an apron with charms on the pockets to hold everything and never break. Sirius got a scarf and aviator goggles for his motorcycle. She got Lupin a bar of chocolate and watched his face as he read the note she put on top.

Sirius looked questioningly at Lupin when he gasped and a tear formed in his eyes. Lupin shook his head and placed the note in his robe pocket before looking at Hermione and wordlessly expressing his thanks.

She just nodded sadly and gave the rest of her gifts out. Percy got a book on transfiguration and its use in the modern world. For Ron, who Harry said was a Chudley Cannons fan, she got a jersey. For Harry, she got a second hand Snitch so he "could practice for the team next year."

_Ginny was the hardest_, she thought as she watched the girl open her gift. She got Ginny a book on offensive and defensive spells that she promised to work on with her, and she also planned to give Ginny a two-way mirror later.

_More fun, though, _she reflected. _Would be teaching Ginny more advanced dueling skills. We'll get to that eventually. _

Ginny handed out her gifts; she got new quills for her father Percy, and Lupin. Some minor trick toys for the twins, a book on Quidditch for Ron, Harry, and Sirius. She got her mother a charmed set of tea cups that she swore didn't bite people's noses.

There were still several presents under the tree, mostly for Bill and Charlie, and some for Order members who were sure to stop by later. Mrs. Weasley bustled into the kitchen to start making brunch, and Mr. Weasley went to help. Percy retreated to his room, the twins ran down to the potions lab, and Harry and Ron went through their gifts.

Hermione pulled Ginny into the library to give her the two way mirror. Ginny looked at it and then looked at the older girl sadly. "What's wrong, Ginny?"

"You're being so nice and you got me a great book and now this and all I got you was the album and that doesn't count since Harry did most of the work" she sniffled.

Hermione was in way over her head but she tried to console the girl, "Ginny, I'm not keeping a tally, you know. Don't forget that you helped Harry with the photo album and that meant a lot to me. And I'm teaching you because I want to and because you're a really fast learner and I enjoy teaching you."

"You're just saying that" she sniffed.

"No, I'm not. I don't just say things. I don't teach Harry or your brothers for the same reason you want me to teach you; they're being taught already. You need to know this stuff and I like being able to help you learn this."

Ginny dried her eyes and looked up at Hermione shyly, "I'm glad that you're teaching me. And I really appreciate it."

Hermione handed her the two way mirror and explained that she should always keep it on her. Ginny nodded solemnly and put the mirror in her pocket and walked out of the library, heading into the kitchen to grab some food. Hermione followed her and then retreated back into the library with her new book on charms.

She heard the greetings from three rooms away and knew that Order members were arriving. She knew she should get up and greet them, so she wandered out to see who came.

"Wotcher, Hermione" a man with a large white beard said merrily.

"Hey Tonks. I like your beard" she laughed.

"Really? Ugh, I hate it. Bloody itchy" she resumed her regular face and smiled at the young girl. "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas. I think Mrs. Weasley has some food in the kitchen if you're hungry."

Tonks nodded her thanks and moved towards the kitchen.

Hermione looked around and saw that Moody and Kingsley had arrived as well. _I guess he's not here yet. Although I hardly expected him to show up first_.

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were next, coming through the Floo and exchanging several "Happy Christmases" to the Weasleys. Several other members stopped by throughout the next two hours and right up until lunch. They didn't stay more than half an hour and left to be with their families as soon as they could.

Hermione watched them all, trying to get a feel for who held the power, _obviously Dumbledore is the leader, but who else do the lower members look to?_

She didn't get her answer, as it was only the Inner Circle that stayed long enough to chat. Hermione was able to overhear a lot of interesting things, especially something about a map.

She tried to find Ginny and failing in that she went to hide in the library. There were just too many people for her to handle at the moment. The library was blessedly empty, and she curled up in an armchair with the album of clippings from the Daily Prophet that she had stashed in a shelf.

She became completely consumed with the articles, trying to find any minute details that she might have previously missed, and wished that she had her notebook with her.

Thinking of her notebook made her wonder where Professor Snape was; he had said he would stop by.

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Snape looked at the clock, 1:17 in the afternoon, he had plenty of time.

He stared back down at the notebook lying innocently on the table. He glared at it before opening it once more and leafing through it. Snape marveled once again at just how _much_ information was in it.

He couldn't believe it the first night he had the notebook. He, a spy of how many years, couldn't believe how much was in it. He couldn't even fathom how Hermione had gotten all of the information, let alone recorded it, analyzed it, and added in questions for future research.

He was alarmed when he saw the information she had on the Dark Arts; spells, minor rituals, the Horcruxes. No second year should know that much or want to learn that much about such Dark magic.

The sections on his colleagues also troubled him; Hermione was either far more perceptive than he had ever guessed, or she was getting inside information from someone.

She had a lot of information on the structure of the Order, the identity of most of the members of the Inner Circle, how they contributed to the Order, what they did outside of the Order, what their relative level of power or influence was both in and out of the Order. The list just went on and on. It was probably a good thing, he reflected, that the book was bound to her with blood; it was too much information to trust to traditional spells.

Then there was his own section. Snape had never had any close friends, barring Lily, when he was growing up. He was surprised and more than a little concerned that Hermione had been able to unearth so much about him.

Although in comparison to some of the other teachers, his section was much smaller, he was still uncomfortable with how much she knew or guessed. _At least I am aware of it now and I can help guide her. _He had decided not to tell Dumbledore; make no mistake, the promise he gave Hermione would certainly keep him from voluntarily telling the Headmaster, but if Snape hinted that Dumbledore should know something, the older man could certainly take the information from him.

He glanced at the clock again, surprised that the Dark Lord hadn't called yet. He decided to go over to Grimmauld Place now instead of putting it off. He snapped the book shut and went to the Floo.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, annoyed once again with the Floo system as he stepped out into the Headmasters office. The old man, of course, was not there, so he went to the opposite wall and said the incantation, revealing another fireplace. _As admirable as it is that Albus went to all this trouble to keep the Floo that access the Order secret, it's a bloody nuisance to use everyday._

He stepped through the green fire once more and finally reached Headquarters. Grimacing, he looked around at the décor and mentally braced himself for the obnoxiously happy Order members he was sure to find.

He saw Molly and Arthur first and wished them a 'Happy Christmas' while looking around for Hermione so that he might escape. But Molly pulled him into the kitchen and he was forced to endure attempts at conversation with several members of the Order who thought that the holiday would have improved his mood.

As soon as he could he escaped to the library and saw Hermione in an armchair. He put a silencing and locking spell on the door to keep them from being interrupted, although he didn't think anyone would walk into the library.

Hermione turned when she felt the magic of the spells and was surprised to see Professor Snape there.

"You should be more careful. You didn't move until it was too late" Snape said lightly.

"Happy Christmas to you too, sir" she quipped. "Besides, this is at the back of the Headquarters for the Order, I hardly think that someone would slip through and get here unnoticed."

"Nevertheless," he lectured. "Be on your guard."

Hermione nodded, slightly annoyed that he was telling her to be careful when she was capable of taking care of herself.

"Did you find my notebook interesting, sir?" she inquired.

He pulled the book out and placed it on the small table in front of her, "Quite. I would like to ask where you found all of this information, but I've decided that it would be better if I didn't know." He looked at her with an expression that was too difficult for Hermione to place, and then it shifted into his usual expression of indifference.

"I've added some things to almost every section, but I think that my notes on the sections of Death Eaters and the Dark Arts will help you the most." He turned to look at her seriously, "If I thought you would listen, I would highly recommend dropping this little project and never searching for information on the Dark Arts again. As it is, I know that you won't stop, so I would ask that you come to me when you want to learn more. If you are really going to do this, I can teach you in the safest way I know."

_I don't need safe! _Hermione fumed. _I knew I shouldn't have showed him the book. Now he'll try to limit how much I learn._

"What do you mean by 'safe,' sir?" she asked calmly.

"Not safe in terms of spells, if that's what has you worked up."

She looked at him, surprised that he could see that she was upset, until he tapped his temple, saying, "Your walls are good, but I've had years to develop my Legilimency skills."

"Can you help me then?" she asked.

"With your Occlumency? I don't think that would be a good idea" he dismissed.

"Please, sir. Who else can help me?"

"The Headmas-"

"No!" Hermione snapped. She blushed when she realized the tone that she just took to a professor, but she didn't apologize. "I can't trust him with my mind yet, sir."

Snape sighed, frustrated with the lack of respect she was giving Albus, although he knew that in her position he wouldn't trust Albus either. That didn't make it any easier though.

He faced her once more, "Let us begin then."

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As Christmas dinner began, Hermione looked around the table; Harry and Ron were to her left, Ginny was on her right, Percy and the twins were at the end of the table, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were on the ends, with Sirius, Lupin, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Tonks, and Kingsley on the other side. Moody had left just an hour before and the other Order members had left to be with their families.

Tonks stayed when she explained that her parents were traveling for the holiday, and Hermione was sure that she was the only one who caught the looks she threw Lupin's way.

The meal was delicious and Hermione found it incredibly easy to relax around the people at the table and enjoy herself. She was upset that Professor Snape hadn't stayed, but if she was honest with herself she wasn't surprised that he had left.

_They had worked on her Occlumency shields for over an hour an a half when Snape found it more difficult to break down her walls and sort through the protections that she had placed. "Good" he said neutrally. "You'll need to develop some defenses that I haven't shown you and that only you know about. I suspect that I can only enter your mind because I know how your protections work."_

_He stood stiffly, "I must be going."_

"_Wait, sir." Hermione called. She was embarrassed to find that she was blushing as she pulled a small parcel from her robes and handed it to him. _

"_Happy Christmas sir, and thank you for your help." She fled the room, afraid to see his reaction to her gift. _

_Snape just stood there for several minutes, staring at the parcel in his hands. Sure he had received gifts on the holiday before; Albus, Minerva, and Lucius never failed to remind him that he had friends. But he hadn't received a gift from a student before. He made it a point to keep his students at a distance so that they felt uncomfortable and would not seek attachments or advice from him that would make his life more difficult. _

_He opened the parcel gently to find a temperature gauge. Turning it around he could see that although it was based on the Muggle design, it was subtly changed to better suit a Potions lab. He smiled a genuine smile when he realized that this wasn't just something that she had seen and thought he would like; this was something she saw and knew it would be put to good use. It was practical and, dare he say, the best gift he had received this year. _

_He put a charm on it to prevent it from breaking and put it back in the parcel. He left the library but couldn't find Hermione and he knew that he should be getting back to his lab. He bid farewell to the Weasleys, Albus, and Minerva, and then went back through the Floo. _

Hermione hoped that he liked her gift, and started planning a few new defenses so that when she saw him next, he would know that she had taken his lessons to heart.

She turned back to the conversations at the table and decided that she should work more with Ginny over the next couple days on her dueling strategy.

She had wanted to ask Dumbledore about the prophecy, but she had decided that she would find out soon enough. Besides, she didn't want to give the Headmaster anything to hold over her head; once he knew that she wanted to know the whole prophecy, he would keep a closer eye on her. And that was something she couldn't afford right now.

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I know! That took forever and I'm sorry! And this was a relatively boring chapter, but it will get more exciting soon.

The next chapter will be the end of the holiday break and the first month or two back at Hogwarts. I'm just beginning these.

After that there will be one or two chapters- haven't decided yet, that will cover the end of year two. I'm part way through these.

Since you've been really nice to me I decided to give you a sneak peek to the end of Hermione's second year, don't worry, it's nothing really important:

Harry and Draco had been following Hermione silently under the Invisibility Cloak, worried for her but determined not to let her know that they were following her.

They saw the strange boy enter Myrtle's bathroom and watched as Hermione walked in behind him. They silently crept to the door only to stand there in silent horror as the strange boy picked up Hermione's limp form and walked to the sink, hissing as he moved.

The sink sprang apart and the boy descended without hesitation, leaving the two boys rooted to the spot in shock. As the sink was closing Draco snapped back to reality and ran over to it, trying in vain to stop it from closing.

He was powerless to stop it, however, and the sink closed with a rumble, locking Hermione far out of reach. He stared at it defiantly for a moment before running over to Harry who had not yet moved.

"Harry!" Draco shook his friend. "Go get the Headmaster. Tell him what happened. I'm going to get Snape."

The blond took off at a sprint and it took Harry a moment to process what happened before he, too, sprinted out of the bathroom.

_Please, Hermione. Please be ok._

Thanks for reading!

Always,  
Sinkme


	11. Coming Back and Complications

Ch 10

Maintenance:

_Thought_

"Normal speaking"

_"Spell"_

_Nonverbal Spell_

_"Parseltounge"_

Thanks to my reviewers: Sylphides, Sofia7, Harry-Hermione Potter, Lysjknopp, Stashthesocks, Padslet, Kymie29, Fire Daughter, potterhead0013, XxXxJackBlackxXxX, Darkness-Lightness, pstibbons, digio, camya (anon), Diespedes, notwritten, missevilprincess, Dark Yellow Dino, Excel Go Boom, Miss-Fleur-Riddle, classygyrl

And thanks to everyone who has this story on alert or as a fav!

Disclaimer: It's not mine, it's note mine, I am bad at rhymes, and I'm dead lazy when it comes to finishing these jingles.

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Sirius and Lupin were sitting in front of the fire, just enjoying the other's company and the feeling of peace that had been missing from their lives for too long. Suddenly Sirius spoke, "D'you remember when all this started?"

Remus turned towards his friend, "When all what started? The war?"

"No," He shook his head. "The Order. When we finally realized that it was real and that the life we had dreamt about when we were in Hogwarts would never exist" Sirius was staring into the fire.

Lupin sighed and said sadly, "I remember, Padfoot." He put his arm around his friend. "Losing James and Lily like that will never be alright. It's normal to grieve for them after all this time."

"I still do miss them" Sirius said quietly. "But I was actually thinking about Snape."

Remus could not hide the surprise that crossed his face "What made you think of him?"

"Dunno. I guess the season. It's been almost eight years since he started spying. And every year he closes himself off a little more. Sure he seemed fine when I apologized for tormenting him in school, but he seems more isolated now and I can't help but feel that we're losing the chance to help him every day we don't do something."

Lupin closed his eyes, of course he remembered the day that Snape turned spy.

_It was an Order meeting in 1984, right before the New Year, and the war was going very bad for the Light side. They had battled back after the Potters had died, but that had been four years ago and their morale was draining. They did not have a permanent Headquarters yet and their locations continued to be discovered, so the air was filled with tension. _

_Someone- had it been Scrimgeour? - had insisted that the Death Eaters had spies in almost every level of the Ministry, despite all the precautions that had been taken. He had insisted that they needed another spy or two of their own._

_Everyone knew it was the truth- they couldn't just keep reacting to the terror the Death Eaters wrought, and they had no way to anticipate their moves. _

_Dumbledore had surveyed the room, "But who would be willing to spy?"_

_No one had answered. Everyone was weighing their own character, thinking of the sacrifices it would take, the strain on not only themselves, but their loved ones. And a collective shudder went through the room at the thought of facing Voldemort. _

"_My friends, we must look for other ways to defeat-"Dumbledore was cut off by Sirius. _

"_-I'll do it." _

_Lupin remembered the hole that had filled his stomach with those words. He looked blankly at Sirius, trying to articulate all the reasons why he shouldn't, no, couldn't do this insane mission, but words failed him. _

_Everyone turned to look at Sirius, who was determinedly looking at the Headmaster. "I'll do it." He repeated. _

_Just as the Headmaster opened his mouth to speak another voice cut across the room. _

"_And I thought you couldn't get any stupider." _

_At this new voice everyone turned to look at the person in the corner of the room who almost blended in with the shadows. _

"_What's he doing here?" Sirius had demanded of the Headmaster, staring in unmasked loathing at his old enemy._

"_He is here at my invitation. Severus joined the Order before he left to achieve his Mastery in Potions. He has just recently returned from Germany, where he was awarded his Master level title, and I invited him as is his right."_

_The Order members stared at him in shock and looked back at Snape; they simply couldn't believe that he was in the Order. _

_Snape ignored them and fixed his gaze on Sirius again. "You could not hope to pass for a Death Eater" he said evenly. There was no malice in his voice but Sirius' eyes jumped at the veiled insult. _

"_Then what should we do?" He roared. "We need something to tip the scales in our favor. I'm the only one here who has a chance of being accepted as a traitor. My family is excuse enough to turn to the Death Eaters."_

"_No you're not." Snape returned, still deadly quiet._

"_Not what?" Sirius challenged. _

"_The only one who would be accepted. You're not even the most viable candidate. Do you think you could face him- face Voldemort- stare in his eyes and lie?" That sent another shudder through the room. "Do you think you could face your brother? Your cousins? Bellatrix? Narcissa? Could you lie to them? Watch your brother tortured by Volde-"_

"_That's enough, Severus. You've made your point." Dumbledore said. _

_Sirius's face was white and his eyes held a pain that Remus hadn't seen since Lily and James died. "Then what do you suggest we do?" He spoke to his childhood enemy in an almost civil tone for the first time. _

"_I will be the spy." He ignored the protests and shocked stares and continued in a sharp voice that demanded everyone's silence. "No one will think twice about my allegiance, I was in Slytherin and know many of the Death Eaters from school. They will not have a hard time accepting me into their folds and I will find myself useful as a Potions Master and thus be privy to Voldemort's plans. I was the one who told Lucius to go to Dumbledore when he wanted to defect from Voldemort's ranks, and it is thanks to that that you have a spy right now."_

_Shocked silence met this explanation. Snape turned to the Headmaster, "I trust this meets with your approval." Dumbledore nodded once, solemnly and Snape asked him "Just tell me this: you knew, didn't you?"_

_The other members looked on in confusion as a tear fell onto the Headmaster's beard and he nodded once more. Snape seemed to expect this and walked briskly from the room. Sirius followed him._

"_Snape" he called. The other man stopped and looked at his rival. "What Black?"_

_Sirius looked at Snape as if seeing him for the first time. He extended a hand towards him, "Thank you. For doing this." Snape's only reaction was that his eyebrow raised in a silent question. _

"_I was willing to do this, but I did not think I could do it well. I'm glad that I don't have to make this decision because I want to be there for the Order and for Harry."_

"_Harry?" Snape said after a pause._

_  
"James and Lily's son. We found him after- after…"_

_Snape hesitated and then tentatively reached out his hand and grasped Sirius's. . _

"_I did not like James, but I am sorry that he's gone. No one deserves what happened to them and I think he would be-" he bit the words out- "happy to know that his son was being cared for by his friends."_

_Snape turned to leave when Sirius called to him again, "I know that nothing I say will change what happened, but I am sorry for how I treated you when we were in Hogwarts."_

_Snape faced him and nodded once, but his eyes betrayed the shock he felt at hearing Sirius say those words so honestly. _

_He strode quickly from the meeting and was not seen again for a week. _

_Remus remembered the accusations that had flown from some of the members: Snape was a traitor, he never meant to spy for them, he would sell their secrets to Voldemort. But the Headmaster, and surprisingly, Sirius, defended the Potions Master staunchly. Life for the Order members had continued, there had been noticeably less attacks that week, but the only result was that everyone was more on edge than before. _

_Sirius and Lupin were only at Hogwarts on that night by chance; Dumbledore had asked them to help patrol the corridors that night. Sirius, Lupin, and Scrimgeour were patrolling different areas of the castle when a Patronus called them to the Hospital Wing. _

_Sirius ran through the halls, thinking of everything and anything that could have happened. The doors were closed when he came to them and he pushed them open, looking around the empty room to see what the source of the trouble was. A long portrait on the wall suddenly opened and Sirius raised his wand- only to see the Headmaster emerge. "Sirius, quickly, I need you to assist Madam Pomfrey. I will wait for Remus and Rufus and send them after you."_

_He gestured through the portrait hole and Sirius looked at him, "What happe-"_

"_There's no time, she needs as much help as you can give." He gave Sirius a light push and walked to the entrance of the Hospital Wing to await the other two Order members. _

_Sirius walked quickly into the room that the portrait protected and looked for Madam Pomfrey. She bustled in from an adjoining room and said, "Quickly, Mr. Black. We need another pair of hands." She pulled him into the other room and his mind rebelled against what he was seeing. _

_Minerva McGonagall was holding someone's head still while he thrashed and twitched on the bed. Filius Flitwick was waving his wand in a complicated manner over the figure and Poppy Pomfrey had run to retrieve a potion. _

_But it was the figure on the bed that captured his attention. _No! _his soul cried, but his mind could not deny what he was seeing. _

_Severus Snape was lying on the bed, covered in blood, bruises, and dirt, his robes were ripped and even shredded in some places and Poppy moved to take them off in order to see his chest better. _

_When they were removed he took a sharp breath at the deep bruising on the man's chest, as he turned away he noticed the Dark Mark on Snape's skin, in stark contrast with the man's ghost like appearance. In fact, if Snape hadn't been shaking so much, Sirius would have sworn that he was dead. _

"_Sirius!" Minerva called, all her years as a teacher making her voice break through his shock. "Help me hold him down."  
_

_Sirius moved to stand next to the pale man and took his arms gently and lowered them with as little pressure as he could. Even as he stopped thrashing Sirius could feel the tremors that shook the man. _

_His eyes asked the question that his voice wouldn't dare and Minerva looked at him sadly, "We don't know. Hagrid found him on the edge of the grounds and he hasn't regained conciousness."_

_Lupin and Scrimgeour walked in a moment later, followed by Dumbledore who looked at the occupants and said, "I cannot stay here though I wish I could. The school is vulnerable without you five patrolling, and I must watch for anything unusual. Send a message if his condition changes." _

_He nodded at them and walked quickly out of the room. Minerva gestured towards two men. "Help us keep him still."_

_Lupin's eyes told everything he was feeling at the moment while Scrimgeour seemed to accept what had happened and moved to keep Snape's legs from thrashing too much._

_Flitwick and Pomfrey worked in tandem to cast as many healing charms as they dared and used a few potions to lessen the tremors and the pain. Everyone watched in tense silence as broken bones reset themselves and returned to their normal place and the deep bruises and angry burns on his chest and shoulders healed. _

_At last Snape stilled and the room held their breath in fear, but Poppy assured them that he was in a healing coma that would only last one or two days. _

_Lupin remembered the relief he felt when Snape pulled out of the coma late on the second day, and he saw that relief mirrored in Sirius's eyes. They were quickly sent from the room when the Headmaster entered but they waited in the Hospital Wing for the news. _

_Dumbledore didn't emerge for an hour and when he did he looked much older than they had ever seen him. "What happened?" Sirius asked, determined to get an answer. _

"_He was successful." Lupin couldn't even begin to discern what the Headmaster was feeling at the moment. _

"_If they don't suspect him of being a spy then what happened?" He asked cautiously. _

_Dumbledore shook his head, "I will not reveal the extent to which Severus was injured. Suffice it to say that they don't suspect that he is our spy, but the injuries you saw were the result of his- ah…initiation as a Death Eater."  
_

_  
As one, both Sirius and Lupin paled and Lupin felt slightly sick. "Severus will fill Horace's position as Potions Professor this coming September- Horace had decided to retire last year but I persuaded him to stay another year, so he will be pleased to retire at the end of this year."_

_The Headmaster bid them a good day and left the Hospital Wing but Remus remembered something that had been gnawing at his conscious and he hurried after the older wizard. _

"_Professor Dumbledore," he turned to look at Remus. "It's not my place to ask, but what did Snape mean at the meeting when he said 'you knew' after he said he would spy?"_

_Dumbledore sighed and motioned for Remus to follow him. They walked in silence to the Headmaster's office and Remus tried to wait patiently as the wizard sat down and looked at him, as if debating with himself. _

"_Remus, I must ask that this information not leave the room."_

"_Of course sir." Now Remus was slightly alarmed and even more determined to hear what the Headmaster had to say. _

"_After you graduated from Hogwarts, you, James, Sirius, and several other classmates of yours started advanced training for the Order. Many of your other classmates entered their training to become Death Eaters. I had always grouped Severus with the students who would become Death Eaters, and so I was surprised when he approached me on the last day and asked to join the Order._

"_He was sincere and let me enter his mind, but I was surprised with how well developed his Occlumency walls were for a seventeen year old. From his mind, I learned that he had never really believed what the Death Eaters followed and had intended to get his Potions Mastery somewhere. _

"_With this knowledge I let him join the Order in secret and encouraged him to leave and complete his Mastery and return as soon as possible. His talents, aside from Potions, would greatly benefit us._

"_Remus, you must understand that at that time I had only intended for him to work with us as any other member would. But as the years went on, I saw that we were struggling too much for Severus to take an ordinary role. I've known for some time now that we would need another spy in their ranks, just as I knew that it would have to be Severus who filled that role._

"_There is simply no one else who could pull it off, and so I summoned him as soon as his Master's title was in his hand and he returned."_

_Remus was looking at the Headmaster in shock. "So that's what he meant," he choked out. "You knew it could only be him just as he knew and he just- he just accepted that! How could he? Knowing what it would mean for him?"_

"_Severus is not the boy you knew in school, Remus; he is brave beyond measure, and he has the skills to see this through. I am confidant in his abilities; I only hope that he will not have to serve as a double agent for long. If his return two days ago is any indication of what he will face, I think that more will be demanded of him than was ever asked of Lucius."_

Remus shuddered as he remembered that and every other night that Severus had returned to them injured.

Sirius seemed to share his thoughts, for he said, "And he still goes back. He was right. I have no doubt that I couldn't have handled being a spy. He's saved us all so many times."

Remus reflected for a moment on Sirius's statement, _No, I don't think Sirius could have been a spy for as long as Severus has been, but Sirius really has matured since school. I didn't think I would ever see the day that Sirius would admit that Snape was right. He's really taken his responsibilities to Harry and the Order to heart and I think Sirius just needed those responsibilities to remind him of what's important and force him to outgrow his childish tendencies. _

Sirius looked at his friend and cracked a smile, trying to lighten the mood, "I think this has been too- _serious_- for discussion on a holiday. Why don't we go see what my dear cousin Tonks is up to?"

Sirius smirked at the blush that crept across Lupin's face and clapped him on the back.

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Despite the festivities of the other day, Hermione awoke at her usual time and crept to the dueling room to complete her exercises. She charmed several dummies to move and fire spells at random and charmed one specifically to do nothing except move.

The dummy that couldn't cast spells she kept near her in order to practice fighting and shielding someone else. _I should have practiced this sooner. My friends are in danger and I need to protect them. Even Dumbledore isn't invincible, regardless of what anyone else thinks. _

The first five rounds she fought ended up with either herself or the dummy getting a Stinging Hex. She sighed, frustrated, and sat down to evaluate her strategy. _Or lack thereof_ she grimaced as she rubbed the stinging in her arm.

_I know the dummy is defenseless, so I stand in front of it to block any spells. Which leaves it, and me, vulnerable from the back and sides. So that won't work. I can't stand behind it because then I run the risk of hitting it with one of my spells. I have to stand to its side. I'm weaker on my left because it's my non wand arm. If I stand on the dummy's left I leave myself vulnerable. If I stand on it's right I leave it vulnerable. My objective is to protect the dummy, so I need to stand on its left. _

New plan formed, she opened her eyes and stood, moving to her place to the left of the dummy. The other dummies moved to surround her in a circle but she stayed in her spot.

She saw the first spell out of the corner of her eye and sent a too-powerful shield spell to block it at the dummy's back. The other dummies closed in, firing spells in quick succession, and Hermione was forced to dodge spells aimed at her as she shielded the dummy.

As she dodged, she tried to send concentrated, on target spells meant to incapacitate the dummy for good. She got it down to two and realized her mistake as she engaged one head on and left the other free to creep up on the dummy.

A Stinging Hex made its way to the dummy's back but Hermione was too busy ducking and dodging to protect it. To her shock, the spell was stopped by a shield.

She looked around for someone else in the room who could have cast the spell, but she hadn't noticed anyone in the room. She made the motions for a _"Homenum Revelio,"_ but the dummy she had previously engaged sent a Stinging Hex that hit her in the back.

She scowled and rubbed the spot on her back as she ended the spell on the dummies. She then cast the spell and found that there was no one else in the room.

Puzzled, she looked back at the spot where the spell had been stopped, running through the mock duel in her mind. _I did cast a "Protego" on the dummy's back earlier in the duel, but the shield dissipates after it absorbs a weak spell or a spell too powerful for it passes through. What was different about the spell that it blocked? Nothing, it couldn't have been- all the spells the dummies cast are the same spell with the same intensity. So it was my shield. I wonder…with more power behind it…_

She focused on power and cast a shield charm a few feet in front of herself and spelled a dummy to shoot a hex straight on it. The shield held. She waved her wand and the dummy cast another hex. The shield still held. She called a dummy to where she was standing, behind the shield, and made it cast a hex. This time the spell continued through and hit the other dummy, who looked disgruntled at the unexpected hit.

Out of curiosity, she waved her wand and the dummy in front of her cast another hex. She tensed, ready to roll out of the way, but the spell hit the shield.

She stared at the shield, mind whirling and mouth open. _How is this possible? It was just an ordinary shield. But the power or the intent behind it is seemingly enough to make it endure past one spell. And on my side of the shield the spell passed through it. Is this true for anyone or just me? Maybe that's why the "Servotutus" spell is so dangerous. With "Protego," the amount of power put behind the shield can be measured to suit the spell it is defending against. But with "Servotutus" the power is a set demand, and it's too high for most witches and wizards. The intent has to be there, as well, I think. The intent for the shield to last longer, otherwise someone would have discovered it sooner. I need to be sure of this before I tell anyone about it. _

She reset the dummies and gave the one she was defending the ability to shoot spells back as she moved to stand by its left. This time, instead of waiting for the dummies to make a move, Hermione cast four overlapping shields that covered the front, right side, and back of the dummy and turned her back on it to cover its left, now vulnerable, side.

Two dummies engaged her and she watched as the spells that the others sent were stopped by her shields. The dummy was able to shoot spells at the other dummies, though, and Hermione quickly took care of the two that were firing hexes at her.

She turned on the spot and looked at the dummy, which was unharmed. _This is big._

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Hermione watched everyone during breakfast, the post-Christmas feelings unable to dampen anyone's mood. She wrestled with her own conscience over telling someone about the shield. _It can help the Order a lot. I need to see if it applies to other people or just me. _

She waited until everyone was done eating and began to get up and move around to approach Lupin.

"Lupin can I show you something? It's in the training room."

"Of course, Hermione" he followed her upstairs, unnoticed by everyone except Ginny. They entered the room and Hermione shut the door, putting a silencing spell and a weak locking spell on it.

Lupin was watching her carefully, unsure what to expect from her.

"This morning I was training and I discovered something about the Shield Charm that I want to test because I think it could be beneficial to the Order."

Lupin's brow furrowed in confusion, _The Shield Charm. That's fairly basic, what is there to discover? Wait, how early was she practicing?_

"I need you to cast a hex or jinx at me, and really mean it" Hermione said as she raised her wand to cast her shield.

"Hermione, I don't know about this" Lupin said.

"Please, Lupin. I wouldn't ask if this wasn't important. I need someone to test my shield. It's a completely different level from when a dummy is attacking it and I need to be sure that the shield will hold against more powerful attacks."

He was still unsure as to what Hermione hoped to accomplish with this, but he prepared his jinx and waited for Hermione to set her shield.

Hermione, meanwhile, was concentrating on projecting as much power as she could and forcing it into her shield.

Then she nodded to Lupin, who threw his jinx at her, _"Protego!"_ she cried. The jinx was repelled by the shield and Hermione nodded. "Once more, please."

Lupin nodded and fired a hex, only to watch in alarm as Hermione made no move to protect herself or move out of the way. Just as he was opening his mouth to shout to her his hex was repelled by a shield.

He stood in shock, _that's exactly where her shield was before, and I know she didn't cast a new spell, but shields can only repel one spell at a time. The energy put into the shield must be greater than or equal to the spell being cast, and the energies cancel each other out. A spell that's too strong will break the shield. So for the shield to endure, the energy put into it must have been tremendous. _

He stared at her in wonder and she gave him a minute to comprehend what had happened. "Can you fire another spell?"

This time he didn't hesitate and the shield still held. Hermione suddenly drew her wand and fired a spell wide.

"What was that for?" He asked, shaken at her sudden movement.

She shrugged, "I wanted to see if I could shoot a spell from behind the shield. Try another jinx. See if it held."

He shot another jinx at the shield and still it held. Lupin couldn't resist it, "Hermione this is amazing."

She nodded, "It's interesting. But I'm not sure if only I can do it because of who I am, or if anyone can do it."

Lupin nodded in understanding, "So tell me how you do it and I'll try to emulate that."

"Concentrate on building as much power as you can. Visualize it accumulating in your wand hand, then push it into the spell" Hermione watched as Lupin closed his eyes and focused.

After a moment he opened his eyes and nodded, and Hermione fired off a hex to meet the newly summoned shield that Lupin created. She waited for his signal before firing another hex at the shield. But on the fourth hex she could actually _feel_ the magic in the shield dissipate, such was its power.

Hermione knew that the shield, both hers and each individual member, would need to be tested and assessed for weakness to determine how many spells it could endure and how powerful those spells had to be. _After all, it would defeat the purpose of putting up a stronger shield if all it took was one powerful curse to break through it, and the caster was unaware that their shield was gone. _

Lupin, though, was more optimistic about the new shield. He congratulated Hermione on her discovery and promised to give her credit when he explained it to Albus and at the next Order meeting but Hermione suddenly saw warning flags.

"Actually, Lupin, if you can keep my involvement quiet I would be very grateful" she said carefully.

"Why? You're the one who discovered it, why don't you want the credit?" He looked at her incredulously.

Hermione bit her lip, "I just think that the Order members would trust your explanation better if you said that you discovered it while training with me. Just something like 'I noticed that her shield could stop multiple spells and experimented on my own.' I think they would be more skeptical if a second year student got credit for this."

Lupin hid a smirk, _Years of being around Severus have paid off, at least. I know when I'm being manipulated, even if it comes from a twelve year old girl. I'll go along with this for now, but I don't like this at all. _

"I see what you mean. If it makes you happy, I suppose I can say something like that" he smiled a genuine smile when he saw her relax at his words.

"Thanks, Lupin. I really appreciate it" she discreetly lifted the charms that she had placed on the door and walked downstairs to the library.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione felt a hand on her shoulder and tensed, preparing to run or fight, until her eyes focused on the bright green eyes in front of her. _It's Harry. Relax!_

She gave him a small smile, "Hey Harry. What's up?"

He sat back on the armchair next to her, "I would have woken you for lunch, but Lupin told me to let you sleep. Dinner's in an hour or two."

"That's fine. I think I needed the sleep more than I needed lunch" Hermione assured him. _The improved shield must take more energy than I had anticipated if I was drained enough to sleep in the library. _

"Hermione, there's something I've wanted to ask you for a couple days now" her friend hesitated.

"You can ask me Harry. What's bugging you?"

"You already knew Lupin was a werewolf, didn't you?" he said slowly.

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked, _that was a lot less harmful that I had thought._

"Dunno. Just a feeling I guess" Harry shrugged, watching his friend carefully.

"I didn't know he was a werewolf before he told me" she began. "But I did suspect it. I would never have said anything, though."

"I know you wouldn't have" Harry said quickly. "I was just wondering. So, yea. Dinner will be soon. See you then I guess."

He walked out of the room rather quickly, and Hermione watched him go, _he's more observant than I give him credit for. _

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The remaining days of the winter holiday dwindled at an alarming pace. Hermione eventually adapted to life with the Weasleys and found that Ginny was soon becoming a sort of sister to her. They began to talk not only about classes and defense spells, but about school, their dorm mates, and life in general.

Ginny did most of the talking, but that seemed to suit both girls just fine for the moment. They continued to train in both offensive and defensive magic, but Hermione was particularly concerned with developing her own Occlumency shields.

She spent many hours in her room when everyone else had gone to bed fortifying her mind and trying to decide on her mindscape in order to fix the defenses to it.

After several nights, she finally decided on one; it would be an ice lake with her memories hidden in plain sight. She smirked as she developed her mindscape in rich detail. Her most important and dangerous memories and secrets remained in the cellar, but the door was disguised in her mindscape and guarded with traps.

_Let's see Professor Snape get through that._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

All too soon it was January and time to return to Hogwarts. Harry and Ron were sad to see the holiday end, Hermione was too; she had enjoyed her time at Grimmauld Place and would miss the freedom she had.

She packed her trunk carefully, placing her notebook and two albums, one with newspaper clippings and one with photographs, at the bottom, and piled her neatly folded clothes on top. She levitated her trunk downstairs, pausing to say farewell to Mrs. Black, and then proceeded to the kitchen.

She sat at the table, watching Mrs. Weasley hustle and bustle in an attempt to get her boys packed. Percy sat next to her with a sigh, "Every year."

She gave him a smile; _I can only imagine what it's like for him to have to go through this at the end of every holiday. _

Ginny came down next, looking a little cross with her mum, but she was better off than Ron and the twins were. Hermione could hear Mrs. Weasley as clearly as if she were standing next to her.

"How can you still not be packed? You've had all day and you can use magic to boot!"

"But mum- I swear I packed this mor-"

"Enough! Pack! Now!" Mrs. Weasley huffed.

The twins walked downstairs whistling a merry tune, "I wonder what's got dear mother upset?"

"Maybe because _something_ pulled everything out of dear Ronnikins trunk and threw it around the room."

"My dear Fred, who would do such a terrible thing?"

"I have no idea, George, especially knowing what kind of mood mum works herself into every time we go back to school. It was truly a despicable thing to do."

"Therefore we feel it incumbent upon ourselves to catch the culprit, who is in fact sitting in this room right now." They made a great spectacle of looking around the kitchen.

Ginny giggled at their antics and Percy rolled his eyes.

As one, they pointed to Percy, "We knew it!" They cried in unison. "Who else but Percy could have done such a dastardly deed?"

"'Done such a dastardly deed,' my we do outdo ourselves, don't we?"

"Indeed we do George."

Percy heaved a great sigh and put his arms in the air, "You caught me. I confess to unpacking Ron's packed trunk this morning."

"Percy! I never would have expected that from you! And you're a Prefect, my goodness. Apologize to your brother at once" Mrs. Weasley had entered the kitchen in time to hear Percy's confession.

"Merlin, mum. Really? You really think I did that to Ron?"

"You just said you did" she maintained, although she looked less sure of herself.

Here the twins broke into laughter, "We are rather devious if we can get mum to believe that Perce unpacked Ron's trunk."

Mrs. Weasley flushed at realizing that she had been the butt of the joke and scolded the twins for their jokes in the face of a rapidly approaching time constriction.

Even as she spoke several Order members arrived through the Floo, ready to safely transport everyone to the train station.

"Why do we have to go on the train, again?" Ron asked. "We can just Floo there."

"And how do you plan to explain why the lot of you arrived before everyone and were not seen on the train?" Mr. Weasley had arrived and was in the kitchen with his family.

"I think Ron knows that, Dad. He just likes to complain" Percy smirked at his youngest brother. Ron made a face back at him as Mrs. Weasley cut in.

"Let's get everything together. We're taking the Knight Bus to the train station and we need to get organized."

Hermione gathered her trunk and coat and stood, almost falling over when Tonks tripped on to her. "Sorry 'bout that, Hermione. I'll be sticking with you until we get you on the train" she winked.

Hermione nodded, happy that she would get to talk to the young Auror more, and waited for Ginny before leaving the house in on big group. _Bye Grimmauld Place. _

The Knight Bus was already waiting for them and was surprisingly empty as they boarded and moved to the back. Harry was near Sirius and Lupin, with Ron and the twins across from them. Percy sat with his father and Mrs. Weasley found a seat next to her husband. Hermione and Ginny sat in front of them with Tonks on their left, closest to the aisle.

Hermione found the trip to the station to be pleasant, with Ginny and Tonks being very good company. Tonks answered as many questions as she could about Auror training and some of what she did for the Order.

They arrived at the station at quarter of eleven and moved quickly to pass through the barrier. After much debate, Sirius went through first, followed by Hermione and then Harry. Tonks went next and Ron and Ginny ran through after her. Lupin preceded the twins and Percy, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley brought up the end of their group.

Percy and the twins said their goodbyes and moved hastily towards the train, eager to find their friends. Harry and Ron said their goodbyes as well and as they left, Harry called over his shoulder, "I'll save you a seat, Hermione."

Hermione noticed Ginny's smile falter at not being included, so she nudged the girl and said quietly, "You won't leave me alone with a compartment of boys, right?"

"Course not" Ginny said. "And leave you to fend for yourself?"

Ginny turned to say her farewells and Hermione walked over to Sirius, "Thanks for letting me stay. I had a great holiday."

Sirius knelt down so he and Hermione were eye level, "Think nothing of it. You're always welcome at Grimmauld. Don't forget that. Have a good rest of the year. Try to keep Harry in line, would you?"

"I'll try, but I don't think I'll be up to the task." She didn't need to say goodbye to Lupin since he would be going with them, so she turned to Tonks.

"Thanks for, erm, guarding me?" Hermione laughed.

"No problem. It's my job after all" She winked. "Do me a favor and keep your eyes open, eh? Something's not right at Hogwarts."

"Will do" she nodded.

She wasn't really sure what she would say to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley when she walked over to them, so she didn't try to squirm away when Mrs. Weasley swept her into a hug and said "Be careful, dear."

She was released from her hug and gave Molly a small smile before she joined Ginny and hopped on the train.

Lupin then turned and said his farewells "See you soon, Padfoot." They clasped hands briefly and he turned to Arthur. "We're not out of this yet, keep your head up at the Ministry."

"Molly, please don't worry yourself. We'll figure out what's going on at Hogwarts" she only nodded, the worry in her eyes increasing now that her children were out of her sight.

Molly and Arthur moved back towards the barrier with Sirius as Lupin made his way to the train.

"Surely you didn't forget me?" Tonks asked playfully as she walked up to him.

"I apologize, Nym-Tonks. I thought you had left after Hermione boarded the train" he ran a hand through his hair.

"Don't worry about it. I know it's hard to see me, it's not like I have pink hair of anything" she said lightly.

Lupin blushed, "Yea. Well."

"Just teasing, Remus. Safe journey" She inclined her head towards him.

"Tonks, wait!" She turned to find herself dangerously close to his chest. She backed up a step, her blush matching his.

"They're so cute together" Mrs. Weasley gushed to her husband; they were watching them from the back of the station.

Lupin, unaware of their audience, took one of Tonks's hands in his, "Please be careful."

For once Tonks was at a loss for words. She simply nodded and leaned into his chest. The whistle sounded to signal the final boarding call for the train and Lupin jumped, suddenly looking very self conscious.

"I-I have to go" he stammered, and quickly turned and boarded the train.

Tonks remained where she was for several moments after the train had left the station before she remembered where she was and quickly apparated out.

Sirius watched her until she was gone, and then apparated as well, a smile on his face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The train ride was uneventful, Draco didn't sit with them and Hermione suspected that something had happened over break, but she would have to wait until later to ask.

They walked into the Great Hall and sat in the middle of the table, on the end further away from the teachers. Draco was among the last to come in and sat down with them. He waved off their looks as Dumbledore stood to briefly greet the students.

As the Headmaster spoke Hermione watched her blond haired friend, he looked different, but it wasn't something she could pin down. Suddenly the food appeared and Hermione and Harry could turn their full attention to their friend.

He remained quiet for most of the meal and deflected most of their questions. "Hermione, did you get my gift?" he asked eventually.

"Oh," she had completely forgotten about it. "I think I must have left it at- at Harry's house." She caught herself.

"That's alright. You can get it later. It's nothing important, just a bauble."

He sighed suddenly, and looked ready to collapse. Hermione looked at him in alarm. "Not here" he shook his head, casting a significant look at the end of the table, where certain Slytherins sat. "We'll go to the Room after dinner."

Hermione nodded, forcing herself to relax and wait until dinner ended.

When the moment finally came, the three of them slipped away to the seventh floor and entered the Room of Requirement.

"Alright, Draco, what happened?" Harry asked as his friend collapsed into an armchair.

"I don't know how long I can keep this up" he whispered. "It's so hard to go home and pretend to support that monster. Pretend to enjoy what he does- you don't know what he does" Draco said, and his voice sounded haunted.

Hermione sat next to him, "Tell us, Draco."

"I can't. But it's so hard. I see how much my father sacrifices, how hard it is for him to pretend to be loyal. I see how much it hurts my mother. She's so fragile but no one notices. She is so strong in front of them, especially my Aunt Bellatrix. But I can see that they're both breaking. It tears me apart" his voice rose with each word until he was yelling and crying tears of frustration.

Hermione, never one to initiate physical contact, immediately recognized her friend's need and pulled him into a strong hug, which he returned gratefully. Harry put his hand on Draco's shoulder and the three of them stayed as they were until the curfew warning bell rang.

Hermione cast a glamour charm on Draco and they ran back to the common room.

None of them noticed that Blaise Zabini had followed them to the Room of Requirement and waited for them to leave before walking down to the common room himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

To Hermione, who had become used to a plethora of free time which she used to study advanced magic, classes were elevated to a new level of boring. She continued to do well in all of her classes, but she found that her mind wandered more than it used to, and she found herself scratching notes to remind herself of things she wanted to research more.

She used History of Magic as a sort of free block to get homework for other classes done so that she had more time to use in the library. She, Harry, and Draco resumed their training schedule and she showed them her improved shields, which they tried to perfect and study in order to find any weaknesses.

Hermione added several charms to her bed to keep her dorm mates from knowing that she hardly slept. She mostly stayed out of their way and they left her alone, Pansy Parkinson was the worst of them, but all it took was a scathing comment from Hermione to make the girl back off. Millicent was a different sort and left Hermione alone, they were cordial to each other, but they never went past their customary greetings.

January passed to February with minimal changes to mark the transition. Hermione still watched Draco carefully, but she was sure that her friend was improving with each day. Harry and Draco were talking excitedly about Quidditch one day during breakfast when Hermione felt a sudden pain in her arm, right where her phoenix mark was.

She clenched her teeth and subtly reached her right arm up to grasp her left as she looked towards the staff table. Both Snape and the Headmaster looked suddenly more aware and the Headmaster whispered something to him. Snape nodded once, then turned to Lupin and McGonagall. The three of them left the Great Hall and Hermione watched them go, worrying about what had happened.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tom sat in the Chamber, putting some finishing touches on his plans that would soon be set in motion. He looked over to a corner where seven bodies were lying. He had drained the students over the break, ensuring his own vitality and with all of their strength he felt stronger than he ever had.

He pulled his magic around himself and summoned a wand from one of the students. He produced a black snake from it as a test, _this wand will do for now. _

Tom began a complex series of spells meant to change some of his features so that he could walk through the school undetected by Dumbledore. Looking over the students, he decided that a mix of the two would go unnoticed. As he wove his spell he felt something _brush_ against his magic. It was an alien feeling and he stopped, puzzled by the source.

As soon as he dropped the spell the presence disappeared, _Surely not Dumbledore. I would recognize his magic. And Severus is a part of my magic through the Mark. _

Intrigued, he began to weave his spell again, this time focusing on the other magic. As his spell grew in strength, he could identify two other sources of magic, but a third one was completely unknown to him. He felt Dumbledore, obviously the Headmaster's power would unconsciously be drawn toward his. Snape, too, he felt, but his magic was more of a flicker in Tom's own magic.

Focusing on the third magic, he struggled to identify it; _it feels young, but so powerful. No child could have this much power, unless- of course! The child of the prophecy. _

He attempted to reign in the child's magic, but it was like trying to grab water; the magic continued to escape him. Frustrated, he finished his spell, content in the knowledge that soon he would have the child.

Summoning the Basilisk, the walked towards it and climbed on its head. The great snake raised itself as high as it would go, stretching its head to deliver its master to the platform.

Tom walked off and opened a hidden door with a word in Parseltongue, then commanded the Basilisk to return to its hiding place. He closed the door and walked through the halls at a brisk pace, knowing that Dumbledore would have been alerted to his movements. _But the old man will think that I'm after the child. _

He climbed the stairs to the North tower with the ease of a student who had lived in the castle for years and entered the room quietly, closing the door firmly behind him.

"Professor?" he called.

He turned as he heard something crash and saw the Professor stumble out.

"Wh-What are you doing in here? I did not See you coming-"

"_Stupefy"_ Tom said calmly, watching in delight as her eyes widened in shock and understanding. "And now, dear Sybil, you're going to help me with something."

He quickly Disillusioned the Stunned woman and levitated her out of the room and down the tower stairs. He heard McGonagall talking to the werewolf Lupin several stair flights away, and quickly Disillusioned himself as well.

He took the fastest route to the entrance and dropped through the sink, removing both the spell on himself and the Professor, although she remained Stunned. He walked them down to the center of the Chamber and turned to face her, "Now, Professor, let's see what you remember about a certain prophecy."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Minerva walked back to the Headmaster's office and entered, hoping that her colleagues had better news to report. Snape and Lupin were already sitting down, and she joined them.

"Anything?" Dumbledore asked anxiously.

McGonagall started, "The wards haven't been broken, nothing has come through them, and Remus verified that when I asked him. So whatever it was that you're not telling me, it was already in the castle."

Dumbledore nodded as if he expected the answer, "Remus?"

"I couldn't detect anything. I used almost every spell I know to reveal foreign magic, but the halls were empty. All the students were at breakfast, Poppy said that two students came in for minor ailments and she sent them to breakfast with a Pepper-Up potion."

"Severus?"

"Nothing aside from what you already know. It has to be him. He's making his move."

"Who, Albus?" McGonagall seized on what Snape said. "We need to know what's going on."

"Severus and I felt a pull at our magic during breakfast, and Severus noticed that Miss Granger seemed to be in pain at the same time that we felt the pull. We both feel that Tom is making his move now." He trailed off, muttering to himself. "But nothing is missing, the students were all at breakfast, the staff as well-"

He turned to look at Snape as the Potions Master arrived at the same conclusion he had. "The staff-" "Sybil!"

Snape rushed from the room, with Dumbledore managing a surprising speed close behind him. Sensing the mood, McGonagall and Lupin followed them wordlessly, and McGonagall held her questions.

As Snape crashed through the door in the North Tower, the four teachers spread out to encompass the whole room, looking for the Divination Professor.

"She's not here," Lupin said resignedly after several minutes. "And she wouldn't be anywhere else, which means-"

"That Tom now has the prophecy"

"Albus, didn't you take any precautions? Wipe her memory or something?"

"Of course, Minerva, but I have no doubt that Tom will break through them. They were not designed to keep him out"

"Then what were they designed for?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"The spells were designed to keep her from remembering that she delivered the prophecy, and to keep her from remembering the contents of it. They were not designed to keep someone seeking that knowledge out; they were designed to destroy the memories before that person accessed them."

"What will that do to Sybil-"

"The Dark Lord is one of the best Legilimens this world has seen" Snape cut across. "He will get those memories before they are destroyed by the spell. Sybil does not have the strength of mind to hold him out long enough for the spell to do its job."

Silence followed Snape's words.

"So Voldemort has the prophecy" Lupin said the words that no one wanted to accept. "We failed."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Classes that day were hectic, to say the least. Any student who had Divination that day found themselves with an unexpected free block. No one knew why the class was suddenly cancelled, and none of the teachers were talking.

It was only a matter of time until someone found out, and after lunch, one Gryffindor fourth year reported that he had been in the Divination classroom, and the Professor was no where to be found.

Rumors and theories spread like wildfire, for it was a well known fact that Sybil Trelawney never left her tower. Speculation continued into the afternoon classes, and only Snape seemed to be able to enforce order on the students.

The teachers gave up on covering any new materials that day, but secretly none of them cared because they were as worried as the students were. The only teachers who knew what had happened; Snape, McGonagall, and Lupin, were hardpressed to not reveal to their colleagues what had happened, but there was no way to tell them without infringing on the Order.

Lupin pulled Harry and Hermione aside in the hall, Draco nodded his understanding and continued on his way to dinner.

"Apologize to Draco for me at dinner, but he can't be seen talking to me alone" He looked at them, suddenly more serious than they had ever seen him. "Both of you need to be extremely careful. Professor Trelawney went missing and we think that Voldemort has her. He's becoming bolder and Dumbledore thinks he will soon make his move. Sybil knew the prophecy, Hermione." Now he focused on her. "Take extra precautions because we're sure that he's coming for you. Don't go anywhere alone. Don't take any chances. Okay?"

"Alright" Although Lupin could tell that she wasn't happy with the situation, he trusted her to be as intelligent as he knew she was. After getting the same promise from Harry he walked them towards the Great Hall.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Great Hall was packed for dinner and the students were buzzing with rumors about where their Divination Professor had gone.

Most agreed that she had been taken by the same thing that took away the other students, but some held out that she had finally had one sherry too many or had finally cracked and left.

Hermione remained quiet, as did Harry and Draco; they knew that the professor had been taken because of the prophecy. They knew what a disaster it was for the Order that Trelawney had been taken because she had the memory of the prophecy and it was very possible that Voldemort had access to that memory now.

With all the pandemonium over the professor's disappearance no one at the Slytherin table had noticed an extra student sitting right in the middle.

Tom smirked; _It's too easy getting through this school. _

He knew, however, that the next part would be the trickiest. But he had a plan. A Sneakoscope that he stole from a nearby student was charmed to loudly shrill in exactly two minutes. He had placed it carefully at the end of the Hufflepuff table. The noise would sufficiently cover his spell and hopefully mask his magic from the teachers.

He dared not even dream that Dumbledore wouldn't feel his magic, Snape probably would too, but he was counting on the child of the prophecy reacting to his magic.

He counted the seconds down as he gathered his magic around him like a blanket.

_Five...four...three...two...one..._The alarms and whistles of the Sneakoscope went off as the charm lifted and Tom waited several seconds before pushing his magic off of him, sending it out in waves and pulses that covered the entire Great Hall.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Snape clutch his left arm and Dumbledore's face widen in shock and panic before becoming masked. The Headmaster raised his wand and uttered a spell and the Sneakoscope fell silent.

The silence was broken not a second later by the sound of harsh breathing. He identified the sound easily; it was the labored breathing of someone in pain who was trying to hold back the screams. Tom kept his head down and looked around wildly for the source of the noise.

His eyes fell upon a hunched over figure at the end of his own House's table. He watched the girl's back closely, watched as she curled herself around her left arm, as if it was the source of her pain...

Tom smiled triumphantly, _I have you now._

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YAY! An update!

The next chapter will be coming soon, since I'm almost done, but I want to see how everyone likes this first.

I know I skipped through their return to Hogwarts, but classes are so boring to write, I they're boring to read. I wanted to get to the meat of this year, and I was willing to sacrifice the classes to do it.

If you're a fan of the class scenes or you think it will help the story at all, let me know and I'll add more in my later chapters.

Thanks for your patience!!

Always,  
Sinkme


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